Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokoff (
Czech: ''Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff''; 12 September 1688 – 8 March 1731) was a
sculptor and carver of the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
era.
Life and career
He was born in Červený Hrádek near
Jirkov
Jirkov (; german: Görkau) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. Jirkov creates a conurbation with Chomutov.
Administrative parts
Town parts and villages of Březenec ...
,
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, the second son of Elisabeth and
Jan Brokoff. Ferdinand Brokoff's work is often compared with the work of
Matthias Braun. Initially he mostly helped his father, but from 1708 he worked independently and two years later, at the age of 22, he became known for his work on several
statues on
Charles Bridge in Prague, including the statuary of ''St. Adalbert'', the statue of ''St. Gaetano'', the sculpture group of ''Francis Borgia'', the statues of ''St. Ignatius'' and ''Francis Xaverius'', and the sculpture group of ''
Saints John of Matha, Felix of Valois and Ivan'' which depicts in its lower section a dungeon in which emaciated Christians are guarded by a dog and a figure in Turkish costume.
Around 1714 Ferdinand Brokoff began working with the
Austrian architect
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and moved to
Vienna (while still taking commissions from Prague) where he worked on the church of St. Charles Borromei. He was also active in
Silesia (
Wrocław), but had to return to Prague soon due to progressing
tuberculosis. Nevertheless, he continued to sculpt in Prague and made some significant pieces during the 1720s, such as the monumental statuary and pillar at
Hradčany Square
Hradčany Square (Czech: Hradčanské náměstí) is a square near Prague Castle in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On ...
( cs, Hradčanské náměstí) in 1726. In 1722 he was also commissioned to create 13 pieces of the
Calvary
Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...
to put in the niches of the New Castle Stairway, a project that was never realized.
Towards the end of his life, the illness gradually prevented him from working alone, thus he only created the designs and models, and had them realized by his younger assistants. He died in
Prague.
Statues on the Charles Bridge
Image:Charles Bridge St Francis-Xavier.jpg, St. Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 15 ...
Image:Charles Bridge St Vincent&Prokop.jpg, Sts. Vincent Ferrer and Procopius
Image:Charles Bridge St Francis Borgias.jpg, St. Francis Borgia
Francis Borgia ( ca-valencia, Francesc de Borja; es, Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After th ...
Image:Charles Bridge St Caetan.jpg, St. Cajetan
Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (6 October 1480 – 7 August 1547), known as Saint Cajetan (), was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the Theatines. He is recognised as a saint in the Catholic Church, and his feast day ...
Image:Charles Bridge St Albert.jpg, St. Adalbert
Image:Sv Barbora Marketa Alzbeta.jpg, Sts. Barbara, Margaret and Elizabeth
See also
*
Statue of Vitus, Charles Bridge
The statue of Vitus is an outdoor sculpture by Ferdinand Brokoff, installed on the north side of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, depicting Saint Vitus
Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian ma ...
References
External links
foto-Krzeszow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brokoff, Ferdinand
1688 births
1731 deaths
Czech Baroque sculptors
Czech male sculptors
People from Jirkov
18th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis deaths in the Czech Republic