Newly discovered documents might free the way for moving Slav Epic to Prague

Documents discovered in a Prague archive might free the way for moving a significant Czech artwork, the Slav Epic, to Prague, the daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported on Tuesday. The documents suggest that the series of 20 large paintings by the Czech Art Nouveau painter Alfons Mucha were not donated to the city of Prague by the artist himself, but rather by his patron, Charles Crane. Until now it has been believed that the painter donated the paintings to the city of Prague on the condition that the city’s authorities house it in an appropriate space.

If proven right, this would mean that the city could move the paintings from Moravský Krumlov, where they have been on display for the last 50 years, to the capital, a plan opposed by Mucha’s descendants. Prague City Hall has been planning to move the paintings in mid July anyway, and display them in the National Gallery in the autumn.