Saint Francis Borgia, Memorial statue on Charles Bridge, Czech Republic
Saint Francis Borgia is a memorial statue on Charles Bridge depicting the saint with two attending angels. One angel holds a relief of the Madonna and Child, while the other displays a medallion featuring a monstrance.
Ferdinand Maximilian Brokoff made the statue in 1710, commissioned by Franz von Collet, imperial palatine and rentmaster of Vienna's Neustadt. It stands on the south side of Charles Bridge, one of the bridge's series of religious sculptures. A 2017 replica by sculptor Jiří Kačer now occupies the spot, the original having been removed for protection.
The group is signed on the plinth with Brokoff's name and the date 1710, the year the statue was made. Francis Borgia, a Spanish Jesuit and third superior general of the order, is shown between two angels: one holds a Madonna and Child relief, the other a medallion with a monstrance.
The memorial stands on the south side of Charles Bridge among around thirty other religious artworks. Visitors can easily locate it while crossing the bridge by observing the south-facing sculptures.
In 2017, sculptor Jiri Kacer produced an exact replica of the original work, which now stands in the same location. This modern reconstruction periodically replaces the original to ensure its preservation.
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