Prague does not own Alfons Mucha’s ‘Slav Epic’, district court rules

The Czech capital is not the legal owner of Alfons Mucha’s cycle of paintings known as the Slav Epic, the District Court of Prague 1 has ruled, upholding a lawsuit by a descendant. However, the verdict is not final, and the city will appeal it.

John Mucha, the painter’s grandson, claims that Prague never became the rightful owner of the Slav Epic because it did not meet the condition to build separate exhibition spaces for the priceless canvases.

If the decision is upheld by the Court of Appeal, inheritance proceedings will likely begin between John Mucha and his half-sister, Jarmila Mucha Plocková, who said previously that she does not support his lawsuit.

Alfons Mucha, perhaps best known worldwide for his oft-imitated Art Nouveau posters, was born 160 years ago. His Slav Epic cycle is now in the Capital City Gallery depository. Last October, Prague agreed to lend the cycle for five years to the castle in Moravský Krumlov, where the paintings had been exhibited until 2011.