He was born in Ivančice in Moravia into the family of a court employee as the fourth of six children. He studied in Munich and Paris, where he subsequently settled in 1887 and worked as an illustrator and graphic artist. At the turn of 1894 and 1895, he had the opportunity to create a poster for Gismond's play with Sarah Bernhardt in the lead role, which earned him worldwide fame almost overnight and brought his name to the forefront of French society. The actress later entered into a collaboration agreement with Mucha for another six years, and he narrated plays, costumes and other posters for her and her theater. At the end of the century, Mucha became an important and pioneering Art Nouveau artist. He designed and published advertising posters, rich illustrations and a number of decorative panels, thematically based on depictions of nature. He created a large number of drawings, pastel or watercolor studios and design proposals for interiors, utility items and jewelry. His life's work is the cycle of large-format canvases Slavonic Epic, on which he worked for almost eighteen years.

Mucha's style was greatly influenced by symbolism, the social aspects of the Arts and Crafts movement and the development of design in England. He sought to make the beauty of art accessible to every social class and to highlight symbols and decorative elements in his works. He developed his own aesthetic ideals and original style, which is now known as the "Mucha style". His works are characterized by depicting the ideals of female beauty, Mucha often depicted them in vague neoclassical robes surrounded by flowers, which sometimes formed indoor circles above their heads. Its use of pale pastel colors is also typical.