by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
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Music by Alphonse Mucha
A woman raises both hands toward her ears as birds supply the song she seems to hear. This is Music, a 1898 colour lithograph from Alphonse Mucha's four-panel Arts series. The Mucha Foundation identifies the birds as nightingales and catalogues a 60 × 38 centimetre sheet printed by F. Champenois in Paris.[1] Its series record places this listener at moonrise, making sound part of a wider cycle from morning through night.[2]
At a Glance
- SeriesThe Arts
- Date1898
- Mediumcolour lithograph
- PrinterF. Champenois, Paris
- Catalogued sheet60 × 38 cm in the Mucha Foundation record[1]
Music in Mucha’s career
Contents
- Showing the act of listening
- Music within The Arts
- The study and the finished panel
- The series in contemporary print
- Looking again
Look closer: Music
This is the Music panel from The Arts; the details focus on visible motifs rather than treating the figure as an isolated portrait.
123Details from Music
Select a detail image to open the full-size gallery, then use the arrows to compare views.
The arch of hands
Repeated hand motifs travel around the pale blue arch, visually suggesting sound or performance without depicting an instrument.
A listening pose
The woman raises one hand to her hair and the other near her cheek. Her pose gives this personification of Music its inward focus.
Floral corners and framing
Small pale flowers fill the upper corners while long lines descend beside the figure, linking the panel to the decorative language of The Arts.
Showing the act of listening
Mucha does not need to give the figure a musical instrument. Her hands and tilted head make listening the action. The Foundation describes a chorus of nightingales, whose song supplies the unseen music.[1] A circular motif behind her gathers the birds and decorative shapes around her upper body. Dress and hair flow down through the panel, making the listening pose part of a larger rhythmic design.
The picture suggests sound through visible cues rather than recording a particular performance. It does not identify a named singer or musician, and no melody can be reconstructed from the birds. The older local page spent much of its space praising Mucha and comparing him broadly with other artists. The specific questions here are more productive: where are the birds, how are the hands placed, and how does the figure turn hearing into a readable image?
The Musée du Luxembourg's French account of the series describes a compositional pattern later called the “Q formula”: a seated figure within a circle, with drapery falling away like the letter's tail.[14] In Music, that description helps distinguish the enclosing disc from the flowing cloth below it. The museum also points to the counter-movement between that descending fabric, curved hair and other ornament. This is a curator's account of the arrangement, rather than a title Mucha printed on the sheet or a claim that every detail literally forms a letter. It explains how the panel can hold a still listener and still suggest rhythm.[1][14]
The act of listening matters because it makes music something received from the surrounding world. Mucha could have put an instrument into the figure's hands; the Foundation says he deliberately avoided traditional attributes of the four arts.[2] With hands raised to her ears instead, the panel gives the viewer a way to understand music as attention. The nightingales are not performers on a stage, and the personification is not a portrait of a named musician. The two elements make an abstract art legible through an imagined encounter with natural sound.[1][2]
Music within The Arts
The Foundation places Music with Dance, Painting and Poetry in the 1898 four-panel Arts series.[2] The series avoids straightforward tools of each art and uses natural motifs instead. Dance makes movement visible through a standing body and blowing leaves; Music works with a seated listener and birdsong.[1][2]
There is also a progression through a day. The Foundation assigns Dance to morning air, Painting to fresh daylight, Poetry to the evening star and Music to birdsong at moonrise.[2] The Mucha Museum in Prague repeats the placement of music at night in its Czech, German and Japanese exhibition accounts.[4] Those pages are translations of one museum's interpretation, not three independent confirmations. Within the set, the time sequence gives each art a distinct atmosphere while the repeated figure-and-circle structure keeps the four panels related.
This programme helps explain why the panel is not simply a picture of birds. Nightingales identify the source of sound, and moonrise gives the listening a particular temporal mood. The move from outward movement in Dance to inward attention in Music can be read across the series without treating the figures as stages in one woman's day. The sources call these personifications of different arts, not episodes in a continuous story.[1][2]
The Foundation records the series as printed on vellum in an edition of 1,000 with fifty more on satin.[2] These figures describe the documented series, not the material of the local 400-pixel web reproduction. The object record gives Music its own 60 × 38 centimetre catalogued sheet.[1] Keeping those levels distinct prevents a series fact from becoming an unsupported claim about one digital image's source impression.
The study and the finished panel
The Foundation catalogues a separate 1898 study for Music in pencil and watercolour on paper, measuring 56 × 34.8 centimetres.[5] This is a drawn stage of the design, not another colour-lithographic impression. Its object entry states that the figure in the final print is partially clothed, identifying a change between the study and the published version. That is the institution's textual description; this article does not infer further changes without a documented comparison. A Japanese exhibition work list also records a study for Music with the same medium and measurements.[7]
The finished lithograph's size differs by collection. The Foundation lists 60 × 38 centimetres; a Tochigi City Art Museum exhibition list gives its Music item as 59.3 × 37.4 centimetres.[1][6] The BnF's French record for the four-panel set gives 57.5 × 36 centimetres and lists Musique as an individually held part of it.[8] These figures belong to separately documented records. The differences do not themselves prove a distinct edition, trimming or measurement convention. Nor does the Foundation's statement about satin copies identify the paper of any of these prints.
A catalogued silk example makes that material distinction concrete. An Art of Museums listing identifies a Music impression in the Yale University Art Gallery, accession 1963.26, as a colour lithograph on silk enriched with gold and silver, measuring 59.6 × 38.4 cm and given by George H. Hamilton.[12] Bridgeman's separate licensing record likewise attributes a Music lithograph on silk to Yale.[13] These are third-party catalogue descriptions of a named museum holding; Yale's own object entry was not available in this text pass. They support the survival of at least one silk example, without proving that it belongs to the Foundation's fifty-copy satin issue, that it supplied this website's image, or that every deluxe sheet received metallic additions.[2][12][13]
The Mucha Museum draws a later connection to Mucha's 1911 Moravian Teachers' Choir poster, describing that poster's attentive listener as reminiscent of the Music panel.[4] This is a useful formal comparison across thirteen years, particularly because both subjects concern hearing. It does not imply that Mucha reused a lithographic stone or that the choir poster was part of The Arts. The comparison works best when the commercial and cultural purposes of the two prints remain distinct.
The series in contemporary print
The London magazine The Poster discussed Mucha's four Arts prints in October 1899. Its caption credited Champenois and described the panels as about 24 × 15 inches each.[9] Reviewer W. S. Rogers praised the group for its floral detail and inventive drapery and recommended it to collectors of decorative prints. His broad review helps explain the set's reception beyond France, while the Foundation's object account supplies the specific reading of nightingales in Music.[1] The caption's rounded measurement belongs to the magazine, not automatically to any held Music sheet.
Rogers said he believed 1,000 sets were printed.[9] The Foundation's later account distinguishes 1,000 vellum sets and fifty on satin.[2] Because the review gives no printer's source for its estimate, the two statements should be reported at their own evidential levels. A French bibliographic study also locates all four Arts designs in a rose-violet page of the 15 July 1899 Revue illustrée. Pavel Nosek records Hudba with the three other Czech-titled arts in F. Topič's home-decoration catalogue, pages 12–13.[10][11] Those reproductions and listings show the music allegory travelling through print without turning them into new states of the original lithograph.
Looking again
Find each bird, then return to the woman's hands. Notice how the circle behind her gives the ear-level gesture a setting and how moonrise gives it a time of day. The panel personifies music without showing an orchestra or stage. Compare it with Dance for another strategy within the 1898 set, then with the later Moravian Teachers' Choir poster for a second listening figure in a different commission.[1][2][4]
Watch: Alphonse Mucha
Follow Mucha’s work from Art Nouveau Paris to his later Czech projects.
Alphonse Mucha: Plongez dans l’Art nouveau !
A French museum introduction to Mucha’s Art Nouveau years, poster work and decorative language.
Watch on YouTubeArtworks directory
| Name | Date | Medium |
|---|---|---|
| 'Accept Love and Enthusiasm from Your Son, Mother of the Holy Nation': study for the mural 'By Own Strength III' at the Lord Mayor's Hall, Obecní Dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Pencil and charcoal on canvas |
| 'By force towards freedom, with love towards unity!': study for the mural 'By Own Strength II' at the Lord Mayor's Hall, Obecní Dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Pencil and charcoal on canvas |
| 'The Passing Wind Takes Youth Away': design for a fan and the façade of the 'Pavilion of Man' (unrealised) | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| 'Through humiliated and tortured, you will live again, my country!': study for the mural 'By Own Strength II' at the Lord Mayor's Hall, Obecní Dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Pencil and charcoal on canvas |
| 1918-1928: Poster for the 10th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Czechoslovakia | 1928 | Colour lithograph |
| 6th Sokol Festival | 1912 | Colour lithograph |
| 8th Sokol Festival | 1925 | Colour lithograph |
| After the Battle of Grunwald | 1924 | egg tempera on canvas |
| After the Battle of Vitkov Hill | 1923 | egg tempera on canvas |
| Age of Love | 1936–1938 | |
| Age of Reason | 1936–1938 | |
| Age of Wisdom | 1936–1938 | |
| Amants | 1895 | Colour lithograph |
| Apotheosis of the Slavs | 1926 | Egg tempera on canvas |
| As Hamlet | 1899 | colour lithograph |
| Au Quartier Latin | 1898 | Magazine cover |
| Banknotes of Czechoslovakia, designed by Mucha: 500 crown; 50 Crown; 10 Crown | 1929 | Banknotes |
| Bieres de la Meuse | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Biscuits Champagne Lefevre Utile | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| Biscuits Lefevre Utile | 1896 design for 1897 calendar; Foundation object/Carnavalet 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Blessed are the Pure in Heart | 1906 | Printed magazine illustration |
| Bleu Deschamps | 1903 (deposit) | Colour lithograph |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina Pavilion - illustration featured in 'Le Figaro Illustré' (1 March 1900) | 1900 | Reproduction from Le Figaro Illustré after watercolour original |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina Pavilion: cartoon for the mural 'The Roman Period and the Arrival of the Slavs' | 1899-1900 | ink and crayon on paper |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina Pavilion: fragment of the upper frieze featuring Ivo and Anica, characters from Bosnian legends | 1899-1900 | tempera and watercolour on canvas |
| Bosnian Legends: Death of Hasanaga's Bride | 1899 | Charcoal on paper |
| Bosnian Legends: Murcia - The Plague Lady | 1899 | Charcoal on paper |
| Bosnian Pavilion Restaurant at the Paris Exhibition 1900: design for the menu | 1900 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| Boutique Fouquet (interior design) | 1901 | Shop interior design |
| Boutique Fouquet: sketches of the shop's signboard and decorative details | c.1900 | Pencil, ink and watercolour on paper |
| Box for Lefèvre-Utile biscuits: Gaufrettes Vanille | c.1900 | Tin box covered with lithographed label |
| Box for Lefèvre-Utile biscuits: Madère | c.1900 | Tin box covered with lithographed label |
| Brightness of the Day | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Broach with Pendant | 1900 | Gold, ivory, mother-of-pearl and semi-precious stones |
| Byzantine Head - The Blonde | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Byzantine Heads (pair) | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Byzantine Heads: Brunette | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Bénédictine | 1898 (BnF deposit); Hamburg 1899; MNAC 1896 or 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Champagne Ruinart | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| Chocolat Ideal | before or in 1897 (catalogue conflict) | Colour lithograph |
| Chocolat Masson (1897 calendar) | 1896–1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Choirboys at Petrov Church, Brno | 1905 | Watercolour on cardboard |
| Cloches de Noel | 1900 | Illustrated book |
| Comedy: study for a mural for the German Theatre, New York | 1908 | Oil on canvas |
| Cours Mucha: poster advertising Mucha's art classes held at the Académie Colarossi, Paris | 1900 | colour lithograph |
| Creative Force - Jan z Pernštýna: study for a pendentive of the Lord Mayor’s Hall, Obecní Dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Oil on canvas |
| Crucifixion | c.1868 | Pencil, crayon and watercolour on paper |
| Cycles Perfecta | 1897 or 1902 (catalogue conflict) | Colour lithograph |
| Dance | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Dead Couple - Abandoned | c.1899-1900 | Charcoal and pastel on blue paper |
| Defense of Sziget against the Turks by Nicholas Zrinsky | 1914 | egg tempera on canvas |
| Design for a champagne poster | c. 1896 | Charcoal and pastel on paper |
| Design for a display stand at the Paris Exhibition 1900 | c.1899-1900 | Pencil and wash on paper |
| Design for Champagne Ruinart | c. 1896 | Pencil, watercolour and gold leaf on paper |
| Design for the cover of the magazine 'Fantaz' | 1882 | Ink and watercolour on paper |
| Design for the heading of the cover of the magazine 'Krokodil' | 1885 | Pen and ink on cardboard |
| Design for the poster for the Mucha Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, January-February 1921 | 1920 | Pen and ink and watercolour on paper |
| Designs for cutlery | c.1900 | Charcoal and white on card |
| Designs for tableware | c.1900 | Charcoal, coloured pencil and white on card |
| Diadem for 'La princesse lointaine' | 1895 | metal and pearls |
| Diploma of Ivančice: Mock diploma honouring a local celebrity, with illustration of the first line of 'May', a poem by Karel Hynek Mácha | 1882 | Pen and ink and watercolour on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: designs for a watch and accessories (unused) | 1901-1902 | Pencil, ink and white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 25, featuring studies of lily | 1901-1902 | Pencil on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 43 | 1901-1902 | Pencil, ink and wash, heightened with white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 49 | 1901-1902 | Pencil and white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 50 | 1901-1902 | Pencil and white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 60 | 1901-1902 | Pencil, ink and wash, heightened with white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 63 | 1901-1902 | Pencil and white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 67 | 1901-1902 | Pencil and white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 71 | 1901-1902 | Pencil and white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: final study for Plate 72 | 1901-1902 | Pencil and wash, heightened with white on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: line drawing for Plate 33, featuring lily motifs | 1901-1902 | Pencil, pen and ink on paper |
| Documents décoratifs: Plate 54 | 1902 | Lithograph |
| Dreaming of Freedom: study for a Panel of the Small Reception Room at the Lord Mayor’s Hall, Obecní Dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Pen and ink and watercolour on paper |
| Dusk | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Evening | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| F. Champenois (Rêverie imprint) | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| F. Guillot-Pelletier calendar (1898) | 1897–1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Feather | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Figures décoratives: final study for Plate 2 | 1904-1905 | Pencil and white on paper |
| Figures décoratives: final study for Plate 3 | 1904-1905 | Pencil and white on paper |
| Figures décoratives: final study for Plate14 | 1904-1905 | Pencil with white on paper |
| Figures décoratives: sketch study for Plate14 | 1904-1905 | Blue pencil on paper |
| Flirt Lefevre Utile | 1899 (Foundation design); BnF legal deposit 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| Flower | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Flower: final study for decorative panel | 1897 | Pencil, ink and watercolour on paper |
| France Embraces Bohemia | 1918 | oil on canvas |
| Fruit | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Georges Fouquet (1858-1929), Paris, after design by Mucha: Ornamental Chain with pendants | 1900 | Gold, enamel, fresh-water pearls, mother of pearl and semi-precious stones |
| Georges Fouquet (1858-1929), Paris, after Mucha design: 'Peacock' Ring (Exhibited at the Paris Exhibition 1900) | 1900 | Opal and gold |
| Girl Weeping | c.1899-1900 | Black chalk and pastel on paper |
| Girl with Loose Hair and Tulips | 1920 | Oil on canvas |
| Gismonda | 1894 | Colour lithograph |
| Head of a Girl, statue for the stand of the Houbigant Perfumery at the Paris Exhibition 1900 | 1900 | Bronze, silver and parcel gilt |
| Head of Sarah Bernhardt: Study for 'Lorenzaccio' | 1896 | Pencil on paper |
| Heather from Coastal Cliffs | 1902 | Colour lithograph |
| Heidsieck & Co | 1901 | Colour lithograph |
| Holy Mount Athos | 1926 | Egg tempera on canvas |
| Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli | 1897 | Illustrated book |
| In the Desert: Study for an illustration for the Světozor magazine | 1889 | Pencil, watercolour and gouache on paper |
| Incantation (Salammbô) | 1897 | Lithograph |
| Independence - Jiří z Poděbrad: study for a pendentive of the Lord Mayor’s Hall, Obecní Dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Oil on canvas |
| Interior and furniture designs | c.1900 | Pencil on paper |
| Interior of Boutique Fouquet: design for a wall-mounted display cabinet with statuette and mirror | c.1900 | Pencil on paper |
| Interior of Boutique Fouquet: design for the fireplace with statuettes, mirror, and the ornamental details of the wall | c.1900 | Pencil and watercolour on cardboard |
| Interior of Boutique Fouquet: sketches of the fireplace with statue, mirror, display cabinet, and the ornamental details of the wall | c.1900 | Pencil, pen and ink on paper |
| Ivy | 1901 | Colour lithograph |
| Jan Milic of Kromeriz | 1916 | egg tempera on canvas |
| Jaroslava and Jiří, the Artist’s Children | 1918 | Oil on canvas |
| JOB poster | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| Judgement of Paris (calendar for Vieillemard printing company) | 1895 | Colour lithograph |
| Justice - Master Jan Hus: study for a pendentive of the Lord Mayor's Hall, Obecní dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Oil on canvas |
| L'Annee Qui Vient | 1897 | red chalk on paper |
| L'Illustration magazine - cover for Christmas 1896/1897 | 1896 | Magazine cover |
| L'Illustré Soleil du Dimanche | 1897 | Magazine cover |
| La Dame aux Camélias: designs for cover and interior of special programme | 1896 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| La Nature | 1899-1900 | Bronze and amethyst |
| La Plume | 1897 | Magazine cover |
| La Samaritaine | 1897 | colour lithograph |
| Lance Parfum Rodo | 1896; Albertina print c. 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| Laurel | 1901 | Colour lithograph |
| Le Monde Illustré | 1900 | Magazine cover |
| Le Pater | 1899 | Illustrated book |
| Le Pater: early study for the 1st allegorical scene 'Our Father who art in Heaven' (1899) (Mucha Foundation object 300) | 1899 | Pencil on paper |
| Le Pater: early study for the 1st allegorical scene 'Our Father who art in Heaven' (1899) (Mucha Foundation object 302) | 1899 | Pastel on paper |
| Le Pater: study for the 6th allegorical scene 'Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors' | 1899 | Charcoal and ink wash on paper |
| Lefevre Utile | 1904 | Advertisement |
| Leslie Carter | 1908 | Colour lithograph |
| Letem Českým Světem | 1898 | Printed book |
| Lorenzaccio | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| Luchon poster (attributed to Mucha) | 1895 | Colour lithograph |
| Madonna of the Lilies | 1905 | Tempera on canvas |
| Master Jan Hus Preaching at the Bethlehem Chapel | 1916 | egg tempera on canvas |
| Maude Adams | 1908 | Lithograph, hand-coloured in watercolour and gouache |
| Maude Adams as Joan of Arc | 1909 | Oil on canvas |
| Medea | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Menu for the Bosnian Pavilion Restaurant at the Paris Exhibition 1900 | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| Militancy - Jan Žižka: study for a pendentive of the Lord Mayor's Hall, Obecní dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Oil on canvas |
| Military Camp in Winter, near a City on Fire | c.1899-1900 | Pastel on paper |
| Moet et Chandon | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Monaco Monte Carlo | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Moon | 1902 | |
| Moravian Teachers' Choir | 1911 | Colour lithograph |
| Morning Alphonse Mucha Painting / AlphonseMucha.org | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Morning Star | 1902 | Colour lithograph |
| Moët & Chandon White Star | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Mrs Mucha’s Necklace | 1906 | gold, enamel and semi-precious stones |
| Mural for the Bosnia-Herzegovina Pavilion: The Roman Period and the Arrival of the Slavs | 1900 | tempera and watercolour on canvas |
| Murals by Mucha in the Lord Mayor's Hall, Obecní Dům (Municipal House), Prague (1910-1911) | ||
| Music | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Nativity | c. 1934 | oil on canvas |
| Nestle's Food for Infants | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Night | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Nude on a Rock | 1898-1899 | Bronze |
| Official Banquet of the Paris Exhibition 1900: design for the menu featuring a fashionable woman wearing a Mucha-style jewellery | 1900 | Pencil, gouache and wash on grey paper |
| Ornamental motifs designed for 'Combinaisons Ornementales se Multipliant à l'Infini à l'Aide du Miroir' (1901) | c.1900-1901 | Blue and red pencil on paper |
| Packaging for 'Savon Mucha Violette' | 1906 | Colour lithograph |
| Packaging for Lefèvre-Utile biscuits: Boudoir | 1901 | Colour lithograph |
| Page's Costume: study for an illustration for 'Le Costume au Théâtre' | 1890 | Pencil and watercolour on cardboard |
| Painting | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Peonies | 1897–1898 | Ink and watercolour |
| Petr Chelcicky at Vodnany | 1918 | egg tempera on canvas |
| Poetry | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Portrait of Jaroslava | c.1927-1935 | Oil on canvas |
| Portrait of Josephine Crane Bradley as Slavia | 1908 | Oil and tempera on canvas |
| Portrait of Marie Chytilová (Maruška), Mucha's Future Wife | 1903 | pastel on paper |
| Portrait of Mucha's Sister, Angela | c.1880 | Oil on canvas |
| Portrait of Mucha's Sister, Anna | c.1885 | Oil on canvas |
| Portrait of Mucha's Son, Jiří | 1925 | Oil on canvas |
| Portrait of Mucha's Wife, Maruška | 1908/17 | Oil on canvas |
| Portrait of Woman | c. mid 1910s - 1925 | Blue pastel on grey paper |
| Poster for 'Hommage Respectueux de Nestlé' (the Nestlé Company's tribute to Queen Victoria's 60th Jubilee) | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Poster for 'Imprimerie Cassan Fils' | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| JOB poster (1898) | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Poster for 'La Dame aux Camélias' | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| Poster for 'La Tosca' | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Poster for 'Regional Exhibition at Ivančice 1913' | 1912 | Colour lithograph |
| Poster for 'The Slav Epic Exhibition, Brno, 1930' | 1928-1930 | Colour lithograph |
| Poster for 'Waverley Cycles' | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Poster for the 'Lottery of the Union of Southwestern Moravia' | 1912 | Colour lithograph |
| Poster for the Austrian Pavilion at the Paris Exhibition 1900 | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| Prague Subjugated: study for a Panel of the Small Reception Room at the Lord Mayor’s Hall, Obecní Dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Pen and ink and watercolour on paper |
| Primrose | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| Primrose and Feather (paired image) | 1899 | Colour lithographs (paired image) |
| Princess Hyacinth (Princezna Hyacinta) | 1911 | Colour lithograph |
| Print proof for the Biscuits Lefèvre-Utile tin | 1899 | Lithograph |
| Reverie | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| Russia Restituenda [Russia Must Recover] | 1922 | Colour lithograph |
| Salome | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Salon des Cent | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| Salon of the Hundred | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Sarah Bernhardt - La Princesse Lointaine - Lefevre Utile | 1903 | Colour lithograph |
| Sarah Bernhardt as La Princesse Lointaine: poster for 'La Plume' magazine | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Sarah Bernhardt in the role of the Duc de Reichstadt in L’Aiglon | 1900 | Pencil on paper |
| Sarah Bernhardt: study of her full-standing figure | c.1896 | Pen and ink on paper |
| Savonnerie de Bagnolet calendar | 1898 (calendar) | Printed advertising calendar |
| Self-portrait (1899) | 1899 | Oil on board |
| Self-portrait (1907) | 1907 | Blue and white crayon on blue Ingres paper |
| Self-portrait, sketching in his apartment, Paris | late 1880s | oil on canvas |
| Sketches of flowers for Documents décoratifs | c.1900-1901 | Pen and ink on paper |
| Slavia insurance poster | 1907 | Poster |
| Slavs in their Original Homeland | 1912 | Egg tempera on canvas |
| Snake Bracelet with a Ring | 1899 | Gold, enamel, opal, ruby and diamond |
| Société Populaire des Beaux Arts | 1897 | Colour lithograph |
| Song of Bohemia | 1918 | oil on canvas |
| St. Vitus Cathedral Stained-glass Window, Prague: final design for the central panels, featuring SS Cyril and Methodius | 1931 | Ink and watercolour on paper |
| St. Vitus Cathedral Stained-glass Window, Prague: final design for the central panels, featuring St. Ludmila | 1931 | Ink and watercolour on paper |
| St. Vitus Cathedral Stained-glass Window, Prague: final design for the central panels, featuring St. Wenceslas (Duke of Bohemia) kneeling next to his Grandmother, St. Ludmila | 1931 | Ink and watercolour on paper |
| St.Vitus Cathedral Stained-glass Window, Prague: final design for the bottom left panels | 1931 | Ink and watercolour on paper |
| St.Vitus Cathedral Stained-glass Window, Prague: final design for the bottom right panels | 1931 | Ink and watercolour on paper |
| Stained-glass Window designed by Mucha at St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Early 1930s | N/A |
| Study for 'The Age of Reason' | 1936-1938 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| Study for 'The Slav Epic cycle' No.19: The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia | 1913-1914 | Watercolour and gouache on paper |
| Study for 'The Slav Epic' cycle No.14: The Sacrifice at Szigetvár by Nikola Zrinski | c.1913-1914 | Photographed drawings stuck together, tinted with watercolour and gouache |
| Study for 'The Slav Epic' cycle No.17: The Holy Mount Athos (1926) | c.1925-26 | Charcoal heightened with white on cardboard |
| Study for 'The Slav Epic' cycle No.18: The Oath of Omladina under the Slavic Linden Tree | c.1925-1926 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| Study for 'The Slav Epic' cycle No.1: The Slavs in Their Original Homeland (1912) | c.1910-1912 | Oil on canvas |
| Study for 'The Slav Epic' cycle No.2: The Celebration of Svantovít | c.1910-1912 | Oil on canvas |
| Study for 'The Slav Epic' cycle No.7: Jan Milíč of Kroměříž | c.1915-1916 | Oil on canvas |
| Study for 'The Slav Epic' cycle No.9: Master Jan Hus Preaching at the Bethlehem Chapel. The Magic of the Word: Truth Prevails (1412). | c.1915-1916 | Oil on canvas |
| Study for 'The Three Ages' triptych: Reason, Wisdom and Love [unfinished project] | 1936-1938 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| Study for 'Woman in the Wilderness' (c. 1922-1923) (Mucha Foundation object 315) | c. 1922-1923 | oil on canvas |
| Study for 'Woman in the Wilderness' (c. 1922-1923) (Mucha Foundation object 316) | c. 1922-1923 | oil on canvas |
| Study for Savon Notre Dame | c. 1896 | pencil and watercolour on paper |
| Study for the poster 'Russia Restituenda [Russia Must Recover]' | 1922 | Pen and ink and watercolour on paper |
| Study of a Male Nude | 1885-1887 | Oil on canvas |
| The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia | 1914 | Egg tempera on canvas |
| The Arts (series) | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| The Arts: study for 'Dance' | 1898 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| The Arts: study for 'Music' | 1898 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| The Arts: study for 'Painting' | 1898 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| The Arts: study for 'Poetry' | 1898 | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| The Bohemian King Premysl Otakar II | 1924 | egg tempera on canvas |
| The Bulgarian Tsar Simeon | 1923 | egg tempera on canvas |
| The Burr McIntosh Monthly, 1907 | 1907 | Magazine cover |
| The Celebration of Svantovit | 1912 | egg tempera on canvas |
| The Coronation of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dusan as East Roman Emperor | 1923 | egg tempera on canvas |
| The Devil and Mr Twardowsky: study for an illustration for 'The Tale of Pan Twardowsky' (a variation of 'Faust') | c.1887-1888 | Charcoal on paper |
| The Flowers (series) | 1898 | Colour lithographs |
| The Flowers: Carnation | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| The Flowers: Iris | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| The Flowers: Lily | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| The Flowers: Rose | 1898 | Colour lithograph |
| The Hussite King Jiri of Podebrady | 1923 | Egg tempera on canvas |
| The Introduction of the Slavonic Liturgy | 1912 | egg tempera on canvas |
| The Last Days of Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius) in Naarden | 1918 | Egg tempera on canvas |
| The Light of Hope | 1933 | Oil on canvas |
| The Meeting at Krizky | 1916 | egg tempera on canvas |
| The Months (January-June) | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| The Months (July-December) | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| The Moon and the Stars (four-panel montage) | 1902 | Colour lithographs (four-panel montage) |
| The Moon and the Stars (series) | 1902 | Colour lithograph |
| The Moon and the Stars: study for 'The Evening Star' | 1902 | Ink and watercolour on paper |
| The Moon and the Stars: study for 'The Pole Star' | 1902 | Ink and watercolour on paper |
| The New York Daily News art supplement | 1904 | Printed art supplement |
| The Oath of Concord of the Slavs (unfinished) | 1939 | oil on canvas |
| The Oath of Omladina under the Slavic Linden Tree | 1926, unfinished | Egg tempera on canvas |
| The Precious Stones (four-panel montage) | 1900 | Colour lithographs (four-panel montage) |
| The Precious Stones (series) | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Precious Stones: Amethyst | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Precious Stones: Emerald | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Precious Stones: Ruby | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Printing of the Bible of Kralice in Ivancice | 1914 | egg tempera on canvas |
| The Seasons (series) | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons (series) (1900) | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons (variation in screen format) | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons: Autumn (1896) | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons: Autumn (1900) | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons: Spring | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons: Spring (1896) | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons: Summer | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons: Summer (1896) | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons: Winter | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| The Seasons: Winter (1896) | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| The Slavonic Concord: study for the ceiling painting for the Lord Mayor's Hall, Obecní Dům, Prague | 1910-1911 | Oil on canvas |
| The Threat | 1912 | Colour lithograph |
| The Times of the Day (series) | 1899 | Colour lithograph |
| The West End Review | 1897 (Foundation); 1898 promotional cover | Colour lithograph |
| Thistle from the Sands | 1902 | Colour lithograph |
| Théâtre de la Renaissance: design for poster advertising Sarah Bernhardt's theatre | c.1895 | Pen and ink on paper |
| Tin for Lefèvre-Utile biscuits | 1899 | Circular tin with lid and handle; colour print on metal |
| Topaz | 1900 | Colour lithograph |
| Tragedy - study for a mural for the German theatre New York | 1908 | Oil and tempera on canvas |
| Trappistine Liquors | 1897 | colour lithograph |
| Wiener Chic | 1905 | Magazine cover |
| Woman in the Wilderness | 1923 | Oil on canvas |
| Woman masked in white head-scarf - study for the illustration of the Bosnia & Herzegovina Pavilion featured in 'Le Figaro Illustré' (1 March 1900) | 1899 | Pencil and wash heightened with white on paper |
| Woman with a Daisy - textile designed by Mucha | 1900 | Printed upholstery fabric |
| Zdenka Cerny | 1913 | Colour lithograph |
| Zodiac (La Plume calendar) | 1896–97 | Colour lithograph |
| Zodiac (textless decorative panel) | 1896 | Colour lithograph |
| ‘At the sight of the two storks the owl rose.’ Study for an illustration for Contes de Grand-mères | 1891 | Watercolour and gouache on paper |
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Music made?
What is the woman listening to?
What series includes Music?
Discussion
Music shows a figure listening rather than performing.
Nightingales give the panel a visible cue for sound.
Reader Insights
Where do you find the birds?
How do the hands communicate listening?
What differs from Dance?
Join the Conversation
Share how the print makes music visible.
References
- Mucha Foundation, “The Arts: Music (1898),” object record. View source.
- Mucha Foundation, “The Arts (series) (1898),” series record. View source.
- Mucha Foundation, “The Arts: Dance (1898),” comparison panel. View source.
- Mucha Museum, Prague, exhibition account, “The Four Arts cycle” and “Moravian Teachers' Choir,” also published in Czech, German and Japanese. Museum account.
- Mucha Foundation, “The Arts: study for 'Music' (1898),” object record. View source.
- Tochigi City Art Museum, Mucha exhibition work list, item 18. Work list.
- Japanese exhibition work list, study for The Arts: Music, item 106. Work list.
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, FRBNF40463518, Les Arts, 1898 set notice. Catalogue.
- W. S. Rogers, “The Art of Mucha,” The Poster, October 1899, pp. 56–59, with Les Quatre Arts caption on p. 57; digitised original. Scanned issue.
- Doucet, illustrateurs, Didot et autres, French bibliographic study of Jérôme Doucet's Revue illustrée contribution, 15 July 1899, including the Arts reproductions and Champenois note. Article.
- Pavel Nosek, Alphonse Mucha: Books and Periodicals, entry 73, F. Topič's Czech Ozdoba domácnosti, pp. 12–13. Readable bibliography.
- Art of Museums, Yale University Art Gallery reproduction listing for Music, from Les Arts, identifying accession 1963.26, silk and metallic details, measurement and gift. Catalogue listing.
- Bridgeman Images, Music from The Arts, 1898, colour lithograph on silk, Yale University Art Gallery. Licensing record.
- Musée du Luxembourg, “Qu'est ce que le style Mucha ?,” French curatorial account of Les Arts and its circular “formule Q” composition. Museum article.
