Johann Brokoff

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The statue of St. John of Nepomuk (1683) on the Charles Bridge

Johann Brokoff (also: Brokof , Prokoff and Prokop , Czech: January Brokov ; baptized June 23. 1652 in George Berg , Zips ; † 28. December 1718 in Prague ) was a sculptor of the Baroque in Bohemia .

Life

Johann Brokoff was born in Georgenberg ( Spišska Sobota in Slovak , Szepesszombat in Hungarian ) in the Spiš County , which at that time belonged to Hungary. After training in Regensburg , he came to Prague on a wandering journey in 1675 . From 1680 he worked in various places in Bohemia (in 1680 or 1681 he fled the plague from Prague and was accepted by Matthias Gottfried Freiherr von Wunschwitz in his castle in Ronsperg ). He settled in Prague with his family around 1690. He founded a sculptor's workshop and acquired Prague citizenship in 1693. Before that (1682) he converted to the Catholic faith.

In Prague he was commissioned with the sculptural decoration of the Charles Bridge , for which his son Ferdinand Maximilian Brokoff also independently created several figures of saints. 1706–1709 he had major orders from the Benedictine monastery in Braunau .

After his death, the workshop was continued by his older son Michael Johann Brokoff (1686–1721). Johann Brokoff and his sons were buried in the cemetery of the Prague Church of St. Martin in the Wall ( Kostel statého Martina ve zdi ). They are still remembered there today with a plaque.

Works

In Prague

  • Charles Bridge: Wooden model (created around 1682 after the plaster model by Matthias Rauchmüller ) of the bronze statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, cast by Wolf Hieronymus Herold and erected on the bridge in 1693
  • In Skrabnik or Skramnik in Bohemia, today Skramníky ( Klučov u Českého Brodu in the Czech Republic): another statue of John of Nepomuk erected in 1715
  • In front of the castle ( Ke hradu ): sculpture of the Pietá
  • Troja Castle ( Trojský zámek ): allegorical busts of the four times of the day , the four elements and the four continents in the castle garden

In other places

Marian column in Braunau
  • Braunau : Marian column on the Ringplatz, eight sculptures for the terrace of the monastery church (1706)
  • Haid : Statue of Saint Nepomuk on the castle bridge
  • Klösterle : Allegorical sculptures of the continents on the palace terrace (1685–1687)
  • Libochowitz : Sculptures of the Moors in the Saturn Hall of the castle
  • Příbram : Sanctuary of the Holy Mountain ( Svatá Hora ) - plastic decoration of the Prague Gate in the cloister
  • Tachau : Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary - statues of the patron saint
  • Rothenhaus : sculptures and fountains in the park of the palace
  • Brüx : Baroque sculptures of the four elements (1715), now installed on the new municipal building in Most

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Isabel Heitjan: The "miracle" Johann von Nepomuk 1744 in Prague. In: Börsenblatt for the German book trade - Frankfurt edition. No. 89, November 5, 1968 (= Archive for the History of Books. Volume 62), pp. 2863–2868, here: p. 2867.
  2. ↑ Tomas Kleisner: Brokoff's testimony on the design of the Karlsbrucke , accessed on January 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ Isabel Heitjan: The "miracle" Johann von Nepomuk 1744 in Prague. In: Börsenblatt for the German book trade - Frankfurt edition. No. 89, November 5, 1968 (= Archive for the History of Books. Volume 62), pp. 2863–2868, here: p. 2867.
  4. ↑ Isabel Heitjan: The "miracle" Johann von Nepomuk 1744 in Prague. 1968, p. 2867.
personal data
SURNAME Brokoff, Johann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brokof, Johann; Prokop, Johann; Brokov, Jan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bohemian baroque sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH June 1652
PLACE OF BIRTH Georgenberg , Spiš
DATE OF DEATH December 28, 1718
Place of death Prague