Two Standing Women 1902

Alphonse Mucha made "Two Standing Women" with an illustrative approach to Art Nouveau. It’s a drawing really, but it shows us a lot about process. The way it’s been put together feels very deliberate, like each line has been considered. The colour is mostly this golden ochre, like old paper, and the black outlines feel very definite, carving out shapes. It reminds me that art making is a conversation with materials. Look at the way Mucha uses line to describe the folds of the women's dresses, it’s almost like he’s mapping out the territory of the fabric, it gives a tactile quality and sense of movement. The way it gathers at their feet is kind of beautiful. Mucha’s work reminds me a little of Aubrey Beardsley’s drawings, but less sinister, more decorative, more optimistic. I find myself thinking about art as an ongoing experiment, about seeing how artists, over time, can transform simple marks into something emotionally complex.