The Coronation of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dusan as East Roman Emperor

The Coronation of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dusan as East Roman Emperor is one of the most complex compostions delivered by Mucha at any point in his career. It is a mile away from his flat illustrations for which most people know him better, such as Daydream, Gismonda and Zodiac.

By 1926, the artist had already completed a number of murals for this extensive project, but was still a long way from completing it. Serbian Tsar Štěpán Dušan played an important role in further strengthening the the might of the Slavic people, through an expansionist policy. There were successes in Serbia and Greece and the introduction of the rule of law also helped to further develop the Slavic culture which previously had been more focused on survival, with little time to focus on anything more dynamic and progressive. Mucha would never feature success in terms of killing others, and so here we are presented with a positive image, featuring the coronation of the Tsar after his recent victories. The inclusion of the young within the foreground of this painting looks to the future and perhaps touches on what to expect in the next elements of this series of paintings.

The artist incorporates an extraordinary amount of detail within this artwork, meaning any digital images of it will never really be able to communicate the beauty of the original piece. Efforts have been made in recent years to switch the whole selection of work to Prague in order to allow more people to see these historically and artistically important works. Previously they have all been stored elsewhere for the last half century and at the time of writing, no clear decision had been made on where they will be located in the future. One of the issues remains their size, which makes most normal galleries unsuitable for them. There has been some discussion about possibly creating a purpose-built venue for these artworks which both recognises their importance to the nation, but also is designed in a way that best suits these large-scale murals.

This delightful artwork might remind some of the work of Victorian artist Lawrence Alma Tadema, with the likes of Spring, The Women of Amphissa and The Baths of Caracalla. If anything, Mucha goes even further with an ambitious plethora of figures right across the scene, entirely taking advantage of a canvas which was around five metres in width and not much less in height. There is none of the sadness and agony of his earlier Slav Epic paintings, but here is celebration and joy. Perhaps we are starting to see the Slavic people establishing themselves for the first time with the opportunity to experience more stable lives. Mucha continues his promotion of, and pride in, his people as we enjoy the sixth installment in his series of 20 that would ultimately take nearly two decades to complete.