The Seasons (1896) by Alphonse Mucha

Article by Flora

The Seasons is a set of paintings by Alphonse Mucha from the late nineteenth century. The Seasons is a four-piece work, each painting representing a season of the year. The beautiful Art Nouveau style with vibrant colors brings a memorable and delightful work of art and imagination.

The first set of The Seasons, made in 1896, was so beautiful that two more sets were ordered in 1897 and 1900. In this article, we will study the first set.

Spring (1896)

In Spring, we see a beautiful young maiden standing under a blossoming tree with her lyre. Light coming from the horizon indicates that this is early morning hours, and the Spring has a look on her face, which instead looks like someone who has just awoken from a long sleep.

During Springtime, the Sun’s light is new and growing. Plants give out their first sprouts, and sleeping trees blossom into new life. Spring is about new, fresh life coming up with the growing power of the Sun and lengthening days.

Mucha’s Spring looks innocent with her white dress and copper red hair. She is crowned with fresh, white flowers, and the tree she stands under is also blossoming white. White is the colour of innocence and new beginnings, purity and cleanliness, when nothing has happened yet. We are at the very beginning of the cycle of The Seasons.

She is holding a lyre as if this is the first time she has found such a thing. There are birds on this lyre, further approving her innocence and being “one with nature” status. Spring is holding the lyre with curiosity and a slight sense of child-like wonder. Also, her feet seem to be walking; she is in motion, active, and ready to discover the awakening world and what this season brings.


Summer (1896)

The Sun-touched Summer is lazy and she couldn’t care less. It is a warm and slow day. Why on Earth do we disturb her sweet summer slumber?

The beautiful overriding ecru and blue contrast is defining this painting. Here we have the light coming from an upper position when compared with Spring, not exactly noon but closer to noon. Summer is the peak time of the year, the peak of the heat, and the longest days. Therefore Summer is similar to noon, the middle of the day.

Summer is trying to cope with the heat, napping at the lakeside. She is bending on a half-dry vine while dipping her feet in the cool, clear water. Summer is throwing a lazy gaze at us. She does not seem interested in our presence but still gives us a playful look over her shoulder. She does not really bother to break her delightful afternoon musing for us.

The plants in this painting are half-dry, even though this is a waterside. Newly sprouting flowers and blossoming trees of Spring have left their place to dry plant life.

The flowers on Summer’s head are deep red, in full bloom. Summer is the season when life comes to its fullness. With the warming rays of the Sun, flowers bloom, fruits grow and ripen, and spring-born cubs and puppies keep growing very fast. This is when life is filled to the brim, just like the fully opened red flowers on her head.



Autumn (1896)

When we arrive in autumn, the bright light of summer turns orange and brownish. In this painting, the light comes from the horizon, implying evening hours as the red rays of the autumn Sun create lengthened shadows. The vine leaves have turned brown; this is the first time we see grey shadows.

The contrasting blue hues on the skirt of her dress give us hints of cold.

As the wheel of the year turns, summer ends, and the rays of the Sun lose their potency in summer; leaves turn brown and grey, days shorten, and summer heat slowly fades away. Autumn is when we receive the fruits of the year. Flowers that bloomed in spring turned into fruits in summer and grew to their fullest. In Autumn, we harvest and store these fruits for the upcoming long and cold winter nights.

Autumn is sitting comfortably in the evening light, harvesting the fruits of summer. She has a somewhat satisfied look on her face, calmly confident. Autumn has experience and knows how to make use of what she has. She is holding a cup filled with ripened grapes, and with her experienced hands, she is weighing her harvest. Grape harvest indeed happens at the beginning of autumn.




Winter (1896)

Snow-covered winter is wrapped in clothes, disguising herself. This image is white and cold, with no hints of warmth and relaxation, in contrast with the previous three. Also, the light is coming almost from below the center, giving us a feeling of a low light, making life look even colder. Yet there is still life in this picture; the soft and light ecru tones in the background signal that there is still warmth and life, even if it is not as potent as it was before. Also, the turquoise of the Winter’s wrap creates a stunning contrast with the background.

In all her shyness, winter has covered her head with her wrap, standing next to a small snowy tree. The birds nesting on the harp in spring now have returned, this time seeking to survive the harsh winter. Winter is holding one of the birds to her face, warming the little bird with her breath, helping it to survive the dark and cold.

Winter’s face looks emotionless yet tired. Her eyes have an exhausted look, and her colourless lips do not carry any emotion. Yet she is gazing at something in expectation; maybe she is waiting for Spring to arrive.

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