Museum Report ▶ Sogo Museum of Art: Mucha Exhibition - Pioneer of Multi-Artists

My first time at a Mucha exhibition.
Although I had seen Mucha's art in collaborations with cosmetics and the like, this was my first time fully immersing myself in it.
It was easy to access at the department store in Yokohama Station, so I went out on a sunny day.

Mucha is a painter who shot to fame with his posters of actress Sarah Bernhardt (the top image of this note). True to the name "multi-artist," the genres he worked in throughout his life were diverse. (From the introduction)

This exhibition starts with the illustrations and magazine covers Mucha created before he became famous for his posters, and features numerous works including postcards, decorative panels, posters, package designs, stamps, and banknotes. I was also able to see portraits and sketches, which are different from the image of his posters.
At the end, I was able to watch a video introducing Mucha's life, which was very educational.

I went on a weekday afternoon, but it felt more crowded than I expected. There were times when I had to wait in line to get a good look at the works.
That said, there were sofas where you could take a break (there was a large sofa in the middle of the poster gallery, which was great for viewing the posters as a whole!), and the crowd wasn't so bad that I couldn't go back to look at pieces that caught my eye, so I was able to enjoy the exhibition thoroughly.

Looking at Mucha's paintings made me feel happy too.

The thing I felt most throughout the entire exhibition was that Mucha truly loved painting and must have enjoyed it from the bottom of his heart.

The extreme detail, density, color, and beauty of each painting... all of it conveyed a sense of care, and I was first surprised that he could create such a volume of work with this level of precision.
At first, I just thought, "Wow, that's amazing," but as I looked closer, I began to feel that he couldn't have painted this much if he didn't truly love painting and enjoy the process. Eventually, there was a moment where it hit me: "Oh, Mucha was enjoying painting the whole time."

I had been focusing only on the hardship, thinking, "It's amazing he could paint such difficult pictures..." but as I looked at them, a feeling that he wanted to express "the beautiful things he himself believed in" strangely came across.
Touching upon these paintings, which were expressed with his whole heart and soul, I found myself smiling naturally.

It was as if I could imagine that Mucha felt the same sense of satisfaction or happiness in each painting that I feel after writing a note or a letter that I am really happy with.

(Although I'm sure there was a lot of hardship involved in reality), it was fresh to see paintings that conveyed the joy of the artist.
Thanks to that, I was able to have a lot of fun viewing them myself.

"Mucha" in everyday life

His design contributions and illustrations for everyday items were also interesting.
I was once again surprised by the identity, perfection, and beauty that you can recognize as "Mucha" at a single glance.

I thought that if I could have encountered Mucha's art in various everyday situations like the people of that time—on snack packaging or banknotes—my interest in art and my aesthetic eye might have been completely different.

It was also impressive that in his advertisements, he didn't put the product in the foreground, but instead focused on the woman enjoying it.
If colored by the beautiful women and glamour that Mucha drew, any product would look attractive.

If I were living in that era, I think it would be so exciting to see posters and advertisements like these for the first time. I imagined that there must have been many people looking forward to the release of new Mucha works.

There were also a few private works scattered about.
Giving this painting to wedding guests is just too stylish.

While Mucha is known for his poster-like paintings, many other paintings were on display, and I truly realized how skilled he was at painting... (which is obvious, I know).
(There were also portrait works, and I found myself looking at them over and over, wondering if they were really paintings...)

The genres on display were so diverse that I wondered if he ever felt bothered by his work being used for so many different things. When I looked into it a little, I learned that Mucha had the desire to"bring art to everyone,"which made perfect sense to me.
I had a wonderful time being able to actually experience the works that embody that philosophy and gaining new insights.

On the way home, I walked through the second basement floor connecting the Sogo department store to the station, which is the department store's food hall.
I saw many delicatessen shops.
Fresh vegetable salads, marinades, grilled and simmered dishes, and sweets.
Every one of them was truly beautiful, and I felt deeply that this, too, is art.