Statues - Hither & Thither

Site Search:

Praha
Hlavní mĕsto

Jindřišská, Nové Město
(Kostel svatého Jindřicha a svaté Kunhuty)

Svatí Jan Nepomucký a Juda Tadeáš

Saints John of Nepomuk and Jude Thaddeus

Michael Brokoff & 18th century sculptor
1709

Praha / Svatí Jan Nepomucký a Juda Tadeáš

Description

Two statues flanking the entrance of the St Henry and Cunegonde Church. To the left of the entrance is a statue of Saint John of Nepomuk by Michal Josef Brokoff, with a chronogram for 1709, and to the right is a statue of Saint Judas Thaddeus by an unknown artist; also from 1709, and were moved from the original cemetery gate, which stood along the axis of today’s Jindřišská Street.

Praha - Svatí Jan Nepomucký a Juda Tadeáš
Svatý Jan Nepomucký / Saint John of Nepomuk
(Nepomuk c. 1345 - Praha 1393), confessor of the queen of Bohemia, refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. At the behest of King Wenceslaus of Bohemia he was thrown from the Charles Bridge in Prague and drowned. John of Nepomuk is patron saint of bridges (Wikipedia) Praha - Svatí Jan Nepomucký a Juda Tadeáš

gLorIoso
faMæ patrono
pragensI
CanonICo
sanCto IoannI
eCCLesIastICa
pIetas
ponIt
die xiii iuly To the glorious
patron of good fame,
the Prague
canon,
Saint John,
ecclesiastical
piety
erects this
on 13 July.

Chronogram for 1709

Praha - Svatí Jan Nepomucký a Juda Tadeáš
Svatý Juda Tadeáš / Saint Jude Thaddeus
one of the Twelve Apostles (clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus) (Wikipedia).

DIVO Thadæo
magno apostolo
AMICO Christi
in Cavsis Desperatis
PATRONO
IN
Gratitudinis Tesseram
Positum To the divine Thaddeus,
the great apostle,
friend of Christ,
patron
in desperate causes,
as
a token of gratitude
erected

Artists

18th century sculptor
Michael Johann Joseph Brokoff (Klášterec nad Ohří 1686 - Praha 1721 in Prague), Czech sculptor of the Baroque era, working with sandstone; son of Jan Brokoff, brother of Ferdinand Brokoff (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Wikipedia, Kostel svatého Jindřicha a svaté Kunhuty.
Kateřina Adamcová, (Ne)rozluční společníci. Polozapomenuté ikonografické i urbanistické souvislosti vybraných sochařských děl věnovaných sv. Janu Nepomuckému v Praze ((In)separable companions. Half-forgotten iconographic and urban planning contexts of selected sculptures dedicated to St John of Nepomuk in Prague). AUC Philosophica Et Historica 2020(2): 61-86 (PDF Online, Researchgate).

Location (N 50°5'5" - E 14°25'48") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: czpr198; Photograph: 11 July 2026
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

Your banner here? Click for information.