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In 1910 Mucha returned to Bohemia. He started working on the Slav Epic, a series of 20 paintings. He saw himself as inheriting the decorative traditions of his native country and was convinced of the need to use his art to express his devoted attachment to ideals and traditions.
The cycle depicts the mythology and history of Czechs and other Slavic peoples. In 1928, after finishing his monumental work, Mucha bestowed the cycle upon the city of Prague on the condition that the city builds a special pavilion for it. Before 2012, the series was a part of the permanent exhibition at the castle in the town of Moravsky Krumlov in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. In 2012, all 20 works were moved and displayed together in an exhibition organized by the National Gallery in Prague. The works are currently not on display, waiting for a new location to be completed in Prague.
The picture shows canvas No. 5 from the series of 20. It depicts The Bohemian King Premysl Otakar II: The Union of Slavic Dynasties.
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