Panel thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Panel

1899-1900 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This printed velveteen cushion cover showing a woman surrounded by garlands of flowers was designed by Alphonse Mucha at the end of the 19th century and printed by Messrs. Hines, Stroud & Co., London. The Art Nouveau image of a woman wearing ornate jewellery and a flowing gown, as well as the swirling vegetation, is typical of Mucha's style.

Mucha was a painter and designer born in Moravia who went to Paris in the 1880s to study art. This was a time when barriers between fine art and the applied arts were breaking down and Mucha became celebrated on the Continent for his posters, particularly those of the actor Sarah Bernhardt. Mucha is one of the artists most closely associated with the Art Nouveau period.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Printed velveteen
Brief description
Cushion cover panel of printed velveteen, designed by Alphonse Mucha, made by Messrs. Hines, Stroud & Co., London, 1899-1900
Physical description
Cushion cover panel of printed velveteen. On a plain lilac ground, framed by swirling stems of flowers, is the half-figure of a woman reclining on a pink cushion. She wears a clinging green robe and heavy jewellery, collar, earrings and head band with long strings of baubles falling from her short brown hair. Her arms are bare apart from a few bangles. The flowers are in yellow, pink and lilac and with green and lilac foliage, heavily outlined in maroon. On a stem in the lower right hand corner is the designer's signature.

The design is printed over the wide flat selvedges of the cotton velvet. There is only one full repeat of the design in the height of the cut panel.
Dimensions
  • Length: 63.5cm
  • Width: 80cm
  • Length: 25in
  • Width: 31.5in
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Mucha' (On a stem in the lower right hand corner, the designer's signature)
  • Transliteration
    .
Summary
This printed velveteen cushion cover showing a woman surrounded by garlands of flowers was designed by Alphonse Mucha at the end of the 19th century and printed by Messrs. Hines, Stroud & Co., London. The Art Nouveau image of a woman wearing ornate jewellery and a flowing gown, as well as the swirling vegetation, is typical of Mucha's style.

Mucha was a painter and designer born in Moravia who went to Paris in the 1880s to study art. This was a time when barriers between fine art and the applied arts were breaking down and Mucha became celebrated on the Continent for his posters, particularly those of the actor Sarah Bernhardt. Mucha is one of the artists most closely associated with the Art Nouveau period.
Bibliographic reference
Parry, Linda. British Textiles from 1850 to 1900 London : Victoria and Albert Museum 1993. Plate 147.
Collection
Accession number
T.316-1965

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Record createdJanuary 21, 2004
Record URL
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