Alphonse Mucha’s masterpiece, The Slav Epic, staying in Moravský Krumlov (for now)

Updated on October 2010: The Slav Epic is being moved from Moravský Krumluv to Prague. The exhibition is closed, so do not travel to Krumlov to see it!

Updated on September 2011: The Slav Epic is back to Krumlov and stays there until October 31.

There is an interesting fight for The Slav Epic, 20 huge paintings by world-famous Alphonse Mucha, who studied in Brno in the 1870s, between Prague and the town of Moravský Krumlov (40 km southwest of Brno).

The Slav Epic has been displayed for several decades in the castle of Moravský Krumlov but several weeks ago, the National Gallery of Prague began preparations for transporting the large masterpiece to its building, as Alphonse Mucha personally gave the paintings to the town of Prague prior to his death.

However, Mucha wanted Prague to build a special pavilion for his work – which still has not been fulfilled by the Czech capital. For this reason, the town council of Moravský Krumlov prohibited the employees of National Gallery from moving Mucha’s paintings and asked a court to solve the problem. Before the final decision comes, The Slav Epic stays in Moravský Krumlov.

The recent development was greeted by the residents of the town (and whole region), grandson of Alphonse Mucha and, quite surprisingly, Czech president Václav Klaus.

Tagged as: Alphonse Mucha, Moravský Krumlov, The Slav Epic