Which Czech artist created the 'Slav Epic' series of twenty large canvases?

The Czech artist who created The Slav Epic, a series of twenty large canvases, was Alphonse Mucha.

Mucha is best known internationally for his elegant Parisian posters of actresses such as Sarah Bernhardt, but The Slav Epic was his monumental Czech and Slavic project. He painted the cycle between 1910 and 1928, depicting legendary, religious, and historical subjects connected with Czech and other Slavic peoples.

The paintings reflect Mucha’s interest in Pan-Slavism and in presenting a shared cultural history through monumental imagery. Their scale, crowded compositions, symbolic figures, and decorative patterns differ from the commercial posters that made him famous, although his characteristic line and ornamental sensibility remain visible.

In 1928, after completing the cycle, Mucha presented it to the city of Prague on the condition that a special pavilion be built for it. The works have also been associated with Moravský Krumlov and exhibitions in Prague. A common error is to credit the series to Gustav Klimt or another Vienna Secession artist; Mucha alone created the cycle.