Muchovo muzeum | |
 Kounice Palace | |
 | |
| Established | 13 February 1998 |
|---|---|
| Location | Kounice Palace , Prague, Czech Republic |
| Coordinates | 50°5′3.7″N14°25′39.3″E / 50.084361°N 14.427583°E |
| Type | Art museum |
| Director | Sebastian Pawlowski |
| Website | www |
The Mucha Museum is a museum in Prague, Czech Republic, housing a collection of works by Alphonse Mucha since 1998. It currently houses the largest part of the Ivan Lendl collection of Mucha artworks.[ citation needed ]
According to Geraldine Mucha, the original idea for the Mucha Museum came after the Velvet Revolution. Swiss entrepreneur Sebastian Pawlowski had bought and renovated Kounice Palace , under condition from the Prague government it be used for a cultural purpose. He approached Geraldine Mucha with the idea for a gallery of Mucha works. [1] The museum was opened in 1998 as a joint venture between Pawlowski and the Mucha Foundation, containing works from the Mucha Trust Collection. [2]
The Mucha Foundation eventually sought to find a new location for the gallery, as the size of the old premises caused crowding issues. [3] Sebastian Pawlowski, director of the Mucha Museum stated that he would not be moving location, and the Savarin Palace location was a separate project. [4] By May 2024, the Mucha Foundation had fully cut ties with Pawlowski, and stated any exhibitions at the Mucha Museum were unauthorized. [5] The Mucha Foundation claimed that they terminated their contract with Pawlowski, who they state owed several million koruna and had kept the paintings in conditions which could have damaged them. [2]
The termination of the contract triggered several intellectual property disputes, as the Mucha Foundation claims it was what allowed the museum to use its name. [2] Pawlowski stated "it is probably for the new place in Palace Savarin to wonder if it has the right to call itself the same as the original", [4] while Mucha Foundation representative Simona Kordova claims that Pawlowski is breaking the law. [2]
The gallery used to contain works from Mucha's later period, and held objects from Mucha's studio. [6] However, after the Mucha Foundation pulled its works from the Museum, they had to be completely replaced by works from tennis player Ivan Lendl's private collection. [2]