Master Jan Hus Preaching at the Bethlehem Chapel

Master Jan Hus Preaching at the Bethlehem Chapel (1916) depicts the reforming preacher whose execution in 1415 made him the central martyr-figure of Czech national identity. Hus preached in Czech rather than Latin at Prague's Bethlehem Chapel — a radical democratisation of religious authority — and his condemnation by the Council of Constance ignited the Hussite wars that convulsed Central Europe for decades. Mucha positioned this scene as the moral and spiritual foundation of the entire Slav Epic narrative: a moment when individual conscience confronted institutional power and refused to yield. Painted during the First World War, when Czech independence movements were gathering momentum, the image of Hus preaching to a diverse crowd carried unmistakable contemporary resonance. The Bethlehem Chapel itself was understood as a sacred site of Czech cultural memory.

Mucha organised the composition around a raised pulpit from which Hus addresses a crowd that fills the full width of the canvas. Warm candlelight from the chapel interior creates a devotional atmosphere, while daylight entering from windows models the faces of listeners with naturalistic care. Mucha's academic draughtsmanship is evident in the variety of individual physiognomies across the crowd, each suggesting a distinct social type.