Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) was a Czech painter and decorative artist whose modern-day influence was particularly strong among artists who design psychedelic posters for rock groups.
In 1894 Alphonse Mucha launched Art Nouveau as a graphic form, when the formidable actress Sarah Bernhardt commissioned a poster for a new play and gave Mucha less than a week to have it completed, printed, and on the street.