Ivančice, the hometown of the world-renown Art Nouveau painter Alfons (Alphonse) Mucha decided to fund the reconstruction of Mucha’s memorial museum with unusual scratch-off postcards.
The South-Moravian town’s representatives say they want to not only collect part of the 15 million CZK needed but to also acquaint the public with the lesser-known work of Mucha. Unlike Mucha’s Slav Epic, this is something even the connoisseurs of his work have rarely seen.
The art chosen for these unique postcards is Mucha’s Three Ages trilogy (Age of Reason, Age of Wisdom, Age of Love). The originals were provided by the artist’s grandson John Mucha:
Alfons Mucha painted many drafts of the Three Ages which have been preserved in different shape but none of them was suitable for this project. I decided to provide Ivančice with the colored version of the Three Ages, a version which hasn’t been published until now.
Why is this set of postcards so unique? It’s not only because of the work that was chosen for the postcards. The front page features one of the “Ages” as well as a portrait of Alfons Mucha and his signature. However, both of these are visible only in the ultra-violet light. On the back of the postcard there’s a scratch-off field in which the owner of the postcard will receive a gift – a ticket to the museum, Mucha’s monograph, a voucher for one reproduction of Mucha’s painting, Mucha wine or a tour of Mucha’s residence.
There are 20.000 copies of each postcard issued for this project and you can purchase them here. If you want to win the main prize (the tour) you have to register the code of your postcard on the webpage.
Would you like to learn more about Czech Art? Browse our Art category and if you’re a Mucha fan, here’s a bit more about the Slav Epic.
