Matthias Braun facts for kids
Matthias Bernard Braun (in Czech: Matyáš Bernard Braun) was a very famous sculptor. He lived a long time ago, from 1684 to 1738. He was born in Austria but worked mostly in the Czech lands. He is known as one of the best sculptors of the late Baroque style in that area.
Early Life and Training
Matthias Bernard Braun was born on February 24, 1684. He was the fifth child of Jacob Braun and Magdalene Neureuter. He learned his sculpting skills in different places. He studied in Austria, especially in Salzburg. Then he traveled to Italy, visiting cities like Venice, Bologna, and Rome.
His time in Italy greatly influenced his art. He was inspired by famous artists like Michelangelo Buonarroti and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He also learned from the Venetian style of sculpture from the 1600s. Because of this, he helped bring Italian sculpture ideas to Central Europe.
Life and Work in Prague
Around 1710, Braun moved to Prague in the Czech lands. He was already a skilled artist, creating beautiful sculptures from sandstone. He quickly made Prague his home. He got married there and became a citizen of the New Town of Prague.
His very first big work in Prague was a statue called the Vision of St. Luthgard. He finished it in 1710. This statue is on Charles Bridge in Prague. It became very popular and brought him many new jobs.
Braun soon opened the biggest sculpture workshop in Prague. By 1725, he had six helpers working for him. He became very busy with orders for palaces, gardens, and churches all over Bohemia.
As he got older, he became ill with tuberculosis. This made it hard for him to do all the sculpting himself. So, he would create the designs and models. His helpers would then carve the sculptures. Braun would then add the final touches to make them perfect. He had five children, but none of them became sculptors. He passed away in Prague in 1738.
Famous Sculptures
Matthias Braun is perhaps most famous for his amazing sculptures at the Kuks Hospital. These include a collection of statues that show Virtues and Vices. These were ordered by a nobleman named Count František Antonín Špork.
Other important sculptures by Braun include:
- The Bethlehem: These are huge statues carved right into sandstone rocks near Kuks.
- Forty statues of dwarfs: These are very unique and are found at the Kuks race-course.
- Several statues on Charles Bridge in Prague.
- Sculptures inside St. Kliment's Church in Prague.
- The stone pillar of the Holy Trinity in Teplice.
- Sculptures inside the Czernin palace in Prague.
There is even an asteroid named after him! It's called Mathiasbraun (number 6768) and was found in 1983.
See also
- Statue of Ivo of Kermartin, Charles Bridge
- Statue of Saint Ludmila, Charles Bridge
- In Spanish: Matthias Braun para niños
