LE PATER

First edition, first printing. Limited edition. Folio. Contemporary half brown morocco by Paul Affolter with gilt titles and beautiful floral gilt and tinted leather inlay decorations to the spine, the marbled boards ruled in gilt. Top edge gilt. Marbled endpapers. Printed rectos only. Upper and lower wrappers retained and bound in at the front and rear. Half title. Lavishly illustrated by Alphonse Mucha throughout in colour, gilt and black and white. A very good or better copy, the binding square and firm with some rubbing at the corners, spine tips and hinges, with a few light abrasions to the upper and lower boards, the gilt bright and fresh. The contents, with a discrete heraldic book label to the front pastedown, some spotting to the early and late pages, and to the margins, are otherwise clean throughout. An excellent example of a scarce, spectacular Mucha publication.

Issued in an edition of 400 copies on laid paper, from which this example is numbered 247. There was also an edition of 110 copies on Japanese paper. Published in December 1899, Le Pater is among the most visually and intellectually ambitious works of Alphonse Mucha, the defining artist of the Art Nouveau movement. Conceived as a spiritual manifesto for the dawning twentieth century, it marked a decisive departure from the commercial commissions that had brought Mucha international fame but, in his own words, little "true satisfaction". Having achieved immense success designing posters and advertisements for clients such as JOB cigarette papers and Moët & Chandon, Mucha sought a project of greater artistic, philosophical, and spiritual significance, one that would, as he hoped, "shine a light" into humanity's darkest corners. He found that inspiration in the Lord's Prayer, bringing to it not only his Catholic upbringing but also his deep interest in spiritualism and Freemasonry. Mucha regarded Le Pater as one of his greatest achievements, describing it as "the thing I have put my soul into". Charles Masson, the influential critic, reviewed Mucha's book in 'Art et Decoration', as "an opus of remarkable unity of ideas and execution". The volume presents a graphic and literary allegorical interpretation of the prayer that consists of seven sections, each of which contains three pages: a heavily decorated title page that gives a line of The Lord's Prayer in Latin and French; a longer, narrative interpretation (in French) of the line, decorated in the style of an illuminated manuscript; finally a black and white illustration provides a visual expression of Mucha's interpretation. The title and narrative pages are printed in colour with gilt accents and are rich with Christian, Masonic, floral and folkloric symbolism. They are executed in Mucha's instantly recognisable, primarily flat style that utilises thick outlines and intricate detail, commonly seen in his poster designs. The black and white illustrations, in contrast, employ a soft-edged, painterly technique and create a strong sense of depth and dimension through a dramatic use of light and shadow. The wide array of techniques displayed in one volume beautifully exemplify Mucha's impressive breadth of skill as both a graphic and a fine artist, the latter being an aspect of his oeuvre that has perhaps been neglected by history. Mucha's interpretation of the Lord's Prayer is both unconventional and profoundly imaginative. Humanity appears as a vast multitude traversing surreal mountainous landscapes beneath immense, luminous manifestations of the divine, figures that are frequently female or androgynous in form. In the illustration accompanying "Give us this day our daily bread", a colossal figure with three breasts pours forth rivers of milk, while a smaller floating figure bears a radiant heart, symbolising the physical and spiritual nourishment upon which humanity depends. In the meditation on "Thy kingdom come", the assembled multitude advances in reverence toward a radiant figure marked by a glowing heart upon its chest, expressing Mucha's conviction that love, the central pillar of human existence, is itself the embodiment of God's kingdom. This fusion of mystical imagery, philosophical reflection, and visual symbolism invites comparison with the visionary imagination of William Blake, whose works likewise sought to unite poetry, art, and spiritual revelation into a single, transformative whole.