Mucha began taking photographs in the mid-1880s as an art student in Munich. This was at a time when technological developments such as lightweight hand-held cameras and gelatine silver made photography a more accessible medium for amateur photographers. The young Mucha photographed his friends, street views from his apartment window and landscapes with a borrowed camera. These early photographs demonstrate his interest in capturing the vibrant life that surrounded him. Mucha’s photographic output grew dramatically in Paris, especially after he purchased his first camera in the early 1890s. Photography became his daily affair, not only to document his studio models to supplement preliminary sketches but also to experiment with light and shadow and to explore new ways of seeing the world.  During this period, he also began to create staged photographs for his book illustrations, with his friends and models posing as characters in stories. This branch of his photography forms an important part of his artistic legacy and demonstrates his theatrical approach to his work, as shown, for example, by the process of creating twenty paintings for the Slav Epic.

The exhibition which presents 120 photographic works in six locations – in Ivančice, Moravský Krumlov, Hrušovany nad Jevišovkou and Doubravice nad Svitavou in South Moravia, Zbiroh Castle and Piešt’any in Slovakia – together with related graphic works, provides an engaging record of the artist’s personal vision and shows Mucha as a master of the camera.