When Alphonse Mucha addressed his hopes for the utopia of humankind in his 1899 icon of spiritualism Le Pater, he adorned the back cover of the book with an emblem featuring the Lilies of Purity and Wisdom above a simple and powerful injunction:
Reading introduces us to ideas outside of our individual, personal experiences; opening our minds to think about the infinite possibilities of the world around us, and to examine the hidden depths of our inner selves.
In December 1899, Alphonse Mucha published Le Pater as his love letter to the close of the 19th century and message of optimism to the future. Now, as we work together to push forward as a society at the close of an excruciating and tumultuous year, we can think of no message more appropriate than the one that Mucha shared 121 years ago.