Since opening earlier this year in the restored Savarin Palace, the Mucha Museum has quietly established itself as one of the most focused and well-curated art institutions in Prague.

Located on Na Příkopě Street, the museum offers more than a display of iconic Art Nouveau posters. It provides a detailed look at the life, beliefs, and ideas of Alfons Mucha, one of the most internationally recognised Czech artists of the 20th century.

We recently spent several hours inside the museum to understand how the space presents Mucha’s work — and what sets it apart in a city full of cultural landmarks.

Inside the Exhibition

The permanent exhibition, titled Alfons Mucha: Art Nouveau and Utopia, features nearly 90 works from the Mucha Foundation’s private collection. These include original posters, oil paintings, book illustrations, personal photographs, and handwritten documents.

The early galleries introduce his most recognisable works — the stylised lithographs of Sarah Bernhardt that brought him fame in Paris in the 1890s.

But the exhibition moves quickly beyond these to present a wider perspective: Mucha’s time in the United States, his lesser-known philosophical writings, and his return to Czechoslovakia to create The Slav Epic, the large-scale cycle dedicated to Slavic history.

The museum keeps technology to a minimum. A few digital elements are present, but the core of the exhibition remains physical: works on paper, letters, photographs, and bilingual text panels in Czech and English.

An Artist with a Purpose

The exhibition presents Mucha not only as a painter and illustrator, but as someone deeply engaged with political and cultural questions. A central theme is his belief that art should serve the public and carry meaning beyond aesthetics. This becomes especially clear in a section dedicated to his interest in pan-Slavism, where a wall quote reads:

“The purpose of my work has never been to destroy, but always to create, to build bridges.”

Built with the Family’s Involvement

The exhibition was created in close collaboration with the Mucha Foundation, led by Marcus Mucha, the artist’s great-grandson. His involvement is evident in the museum’s tone and structure.

The result is a space that avoids nostalgia and avoids turning Mucha into a myth. Instead, it presents him as a working artist shaped by his time, his politics, and his convictions — all without losing sight of his technical skill and innovation.

For both Prague residents and international visitors, it offers a chance to reconsider an artist too often reduced to decoration. The museum helps place Mucha in his proper context — not just as a symbol of Art Nouveau, but as an artist deeply concerned with the world around him.