In 1902, the first foreign exhibition of the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin was held in Prague. Alphonse Mucha accompanied the sculptor on this journey from Paris as his faithful friend and translator. The exhibition was set up in the new exhibition pavilion of the Mánes Association, built just for this occasion; it was built in the Art Nouveau style to the design of Jan Kotěra. In the following years, the hall hosted a number of important exhibitions that influenced the direction of Czech art (1905 Edward Munch or 1910 Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse). Rodin’s exhibition in 1902 became an major developmental milestone in the cultural life of Bohemia and a departure from the traditional orientation towards Vienna. For Alphonse Mucha, however, this expedition had a detrimental effect. He hoped to befriend the Czech art community, but the very opposite took place. This was also due to his pronouncements at the Academy of Fine Arts during a convivial meeting of Czech artists with Auguste Rodin, where he all too bluntly expressed his opinions about the provincial nature of Czech art at that time. Source: Prague City Tourism