Fairy with Irises (ca. 1885–1890)

A waterside at dusk.
Surrounded by blue irises and reeds, a blonde fairy with blue wings floats quietly.
Clad in a white dress, she rests with her eyes gently closed.
Delicately rendered in watercolor and gouache over a pencil underdrawing.

The late 1880s.
Alphonse Mucha was in the midst of turbulent times.

In 1881, Vienna's Ringtheater was destroyed by fire.
Working as a scenery painter, he suddenly lost his livelihood.
At a loss, he was rescued by Count Karl Khuen-Belasi.
Taking Mucha under his patronage, the Count commissioned him to paint murals for his castle.

One day, a professor from the Academy of Fine Arts saw the castle's decorations and was astonished by his talent.
"This young man must receive formal training immediately."
Upon this strong recommendation, Mucha entered the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1885.
By 1887, he had moved to Paris, enjoying days of steady progress.

However, in 1889,
the Count's financial support was abruptly cut off.

Mucha was forced to leave the academy.
He was plunged into severe poverty, scraping by on daily earnings from illustrating children's books and magazines.