Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860 - 1939) was a Czech Art Nouveau painter. However, he did a great many posters and prints. The period of his work has become known as the Belle Epoque. "Zdenka Cerny," an original art nouveau period poster by Alphonse Mucha, 1913. Mucha befriended the Cerny family when he gave a series of lectures at The Chicago Art Institute. He promised to paint a portrait of the second daughter in the family, a talented musician, when she became a virtuoso concert artist. The portrait he eventually painted became the basis for this poster, created for Zdenka''s European tour of 1914-1915, a tour which was unfortunately cancelled because of the war.