I keep a lot of reference books on hand for getting the creative juices flowing for my Art Nouveau pieces!  Here’s a list of some of my favorites sources.  Note: If you decide to purchase any of the books using the links, you’ll earn me a little kickback from Amazon (but definitely buy them where you get the best deal that suits your budget)!

My Top Recommendations

There are a lot of books listed below, but my top 3 MUST HAVE books are as follows:

  1.  Mucha by Sarah Mucha.  An excellent selection of Mucha’s jewelry, photography, and paintings, as well as a thorough write-up on his life and times by a historian and the wife of Alphonse Mucha’s grandson.  This book was published in association with the Mucha Museum of Prague.
  2. Mucha’s Documents Decoratifs.  A collection of Mucha’s sketches for jewelry, paintings, and more!  An excellent resource for examining his planning and structure.
  3. Mucha’s Figures Decoratives.  Much like Documents Decoratives, this one has many sketches and plates by Mucha, but with an emphasis on figures.

For design inspiration:
    
–  Treasury of Art Nouveau Design & Ornament, Carol Belanger Grafton
–  The Art Nouveau Style Book of Alphonse Mucha (Documents Décoratifs), David M.H. Kern.
–  The Grammar of Ornament, Owen Jones.
–  Art Nouveau Floral Patterns and Stencil Designs in Full Color, M. P. Verneuil.
–  305 Authentic Art Nouveau Jewelry Designs (Dover Jewelry and Metalwork), Maurice Dufrène.

 

For general Art Nouveau inspiration:
    
–  Mucha, Sarah Mucha.
–  Mucha’s Figures Décoratives, Alphonse Maria Mucha.
–  Art Nouveau, Gabrielle Fahr-Becker
–  Mucha Masterworks, Rosalind Ormistand.

 

My favorite Art Nouveau online resources:

– Art Renewal Center
– Mucha Foundation
– Mucha Museum

Related Images: