Five canvases from the Alfons Mucha cycle are now exhibited in the Small Hall of the Trade Fair Palace; the remaining fifteen ones will remain in the château of Moravsky Krumlov town until Autumn when they will be taken to Prague.
Four years in Trade Fair Palace
“The exhibition opening is planned for the beginning of this December and it will be held in the Small Hall of the Trade Fair Palace,” said Milan Bufka to Praha.eu and added, “The exhibition should last at least two years and I hope that it will be extended at least four more years. This should give us enough time to fully solve the issues surrounding the Pavilion and place the pictures in Prague permanently.”
The Director of the Gallery also explained that the Slav Epic undoubtedly belongs to the capital city: “This is justified not only by the decision of the Ministry of Culture from 1993 but also by the entire historical documentation proving that the gift was given to the city by Mr Cran. The documents include mainly the contract from 1913 and competition certificates used when the city was taking the pictures over from Alfons Mucha. In this connection is often mentioned the condition set by Mr Crane who asked for the piece to be exhibited in a pavilion built especially for this purpose. This condition doesn’t, however, bring into question the fact that the Epic was given to the city which is its rightful owner,” says Bufka.
Bufka would welcome if the pavilion to house the Epic was built. Both Vítkov and Letna are possible locations, but he thinks that the Trade Fair Palace is an ideal spot. A good option would also be the Prague Castle Riding School. He added that he wouldn’t mind if the Epic was at some later point loaned abroad where it would wonderfully represent Prague.
