Moravský Krumlov blocks move of Mucha’s Slav Epic to Prague

Officials in Moravský Krumlov have blocked the planned move of Alphonse Mucha’s Slav Epic to Prague. Movers were on Monday due to start taking the first of the 20 paintings that make up the masterpiece to the capital for display at the Veletržni Palác modern art gallery. However local authorities in Moravský Krumlov, where the Slav Epic has been housed for over half a century, have heeded a call from Mucha’s heirs to bar anybody from handling it. The ban will remain in place until uncertainties surrounding a 1913 contract granting the city of Prague ownership of the art work have been cleared up.

The Mucha Foundation, which is run by the artist’s grandson, says moving the Slav Epic to Veletržni Palác would only be a temporary solution. The Art Nouveau pioneer donated it to Prague on the condition that the authorities built a dedicated home for his late masterpiece, a condition that remains unfulfilled. On Sunday around 1,000 people demonstrated against it being moved from Moravský Krumlov, where it is the biggest tourist attraction.