Biography
Michael Brokoff was born in Klášterec nad Ohří as the oldest son of Jan Brokoff, also a sculptor, and apprenticed in his workshop at first. Later he continued his education by Filip Ondřej Quitainer and possibly also Jan Oldřich Mayer, two distinct sculptors and carvers of the time. After his father's death he took over his workshop for a short time in 1718. He is said to surpass the work of his father by technical excellency although he never achieved the supreme style of his younger brother Ferdinand Brokoff, to whom he forwarded leading of the family workshop. Many important sculptures are attributed to him, at least as a co-author: the statue of ''St. Adalbert of Prague'' from 1709 on Charles Bridge, Prague (in collaboration with his brother Ferdinand), statue of ''St. Ludmila'' at Vyšehrad, Prague, ''Herculius'' at the garden of the Kolowrat Palace in Prague, statuary of ''Virgin Mary'' in Police nad Metují, etc. Contrary to his brother, his work is said to be less spatially verbose, the expression of the statues is concentrated into the mimics of the heads, with the gestures of the body somewhat tense. Brokoff died on 8 September 1721 in Prague, at the age of 35. 1686 births 1721 deaths Czech Baroque sculptors Czech male sculptors Czech people of German descent Czech people of Hungarian descent People from Chomutov District {{CzechRepublic-sculptor-stub