Prague discussed the placement of Mucha's Epos at the Zbraslav Castle

Prague - The Slav Epic by Alfons Mucha could be exhibited at the castle in Prague-Zbraslav. Representatives of the Gallery of the Capital City, which manages the work, have discussed its exhibition with the castle owners. However, no agreement has been reached yet. This was stated by the committee's chairman Jan Wolf (KDU-ČSL) and gallery director Magdalena Juříková at today's meeting of the cultural committee of the Prague city council. The city leadership recently discussed the possibility of lending it again to the castle in Moravský Krumlov, provided the city repairs it. Currently, no loan has been agreed upon. This plan has drawn criticism from the opposition towards the city leadership.

The cycle of paintings consists of 20 large canvases that Mucha painted from 1910 for another 18 years and dedicated to Prague. They are currently stored in a depository. The paintings, inspired by Slavic mythology and the history of the Czech nation, have been included in the list of cultural monuments since 2010.

The mayor of Moravský Krumlov, Tomáš Třetina (TOP 09), told ČTK that his negotiation partner is not councilor Wolf, but the councilor for culture, Hana Třeštíková. "We are ready to exhibit the Slav Epic, we will offer Prague an adequate exhibition and adequate repairs, which I will present to them by the end of April as we agreed," he stated,

"There is no obstacle to the Slav Epic being placed in the Zbraslav castle. The gallery has already negotiated with the owners, and the Zbraslav town hall is also in favor," Wolf told ČTK. The Zbraslav castle previously housed a permanent exhibition of the National Gallery. The castle was restituted to the Bartoň family from Dobenín.

Gallery director Juříková said that the castle in Zbraslav offers luxurious conditions for the exhibition of the paintings. According to her, the canvases would not be threatened even by a potential flood. "The thousand-year flood reached the basements, and now there are (in Zbraslav) flood barriers that will be certified this year," Juříková stated. According to her, the Zbraslav town hall is also prepared to expand the local parking lot.

Some committee members, including Wolf, criticized the councilors' plan to lend the cycle of paintings to Moravský Krumlov during the discussion. "I don't understand why Prague now, instead of seeking a permanent location, will return the epic to Krumlov to spaces that are inadequate," said opposition councilor Jaroslava Janderová (ODS). "I can't imagine that the council of Vienna or Paris would say about such a monument that they would send it away," said opposition councilor Lubomír Brož (ANO). Juříková added that Krumlov is preparing to repair part of the castle, and thus the paintings would be exhibited at the construction site.

Councilor Třeštíková (Praha Sobě) defended the city's leadership's approach. According to her, Prague has not decided on relocating the paintings. Moreover, although the previous city leadership created a plan to build spaces for the epic at the Exhibition Grounds, it did not create a plan for what to do with the canvases until the current tenant, who has a three-year notice period, vacates the selected place. "Even if the notice period started now, three years would pass, and only then could reconstruction begin. This means that the earliest the epic could be exhibited would be in four years, possibly even longer," she said.

Prague has been searching for a suitable location for the paintings for many years. They were transported from the castle in Moravský Krumlov to Prague before the 2010 elections. A new building was planned, among other locations, at Letná or Těšnov. The last variant was proposed by the previous Prague leadership, which approved placing the paintings in the planned extension of the Lapidarium building at the Exhibition Grounds. A project is prepared, complete with a building permit.