St. Anthony of Padua with Infant Jesus on Charles Bridge / Sv. Antonín Paduánský s Ježíškem na Karlove Moste (Prague) - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

Depicted Baroque sculptural group of St. Anthony of Padua with Infant Jesus (Sv. Antonín Paduánský s Ježíškem) is one of 31 historic statues (...or groups) decorating famous Gothic Charles Bridge (Karluv most) in Prague' centre.

What makes Charles Bridge a top tourist attraction is the open air sculptural gallery which adorns it. It was created much later than the actual bridge construction, mostly in 1706-1714 in the expectation of the canonisation of John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký). Despite the partial changes the gallery has undergone since its creation, it is still a great reflection of the history of the Czech lands - there are 31 statues and groups of statues in all on the bridge today with approximately 100 figures, among them also prime works of the great men of central European sculpture Matthias B. Braun and Ferdinand M. Brokoff. Since 1965 the precious originals of the statues have been gradually replaced by replicas. In extent and quality this bridge gallery has no equal in Europe.

Sculptural group of St. Anthony of Padua with baby Jesus is the 9th one on the right looking from the Old Town Bridge Tower. The sandstone statue, work of Jan Oldrich Mayer (1707), was donated by Prague Castle councilor Kryštof Moric Withauer. St. Anthony of Padua, dressed in a regular vestment, is standing on a simple prismatic pedestal and is leaning against a voluted upstand with Infant Jesus. On both sides of the sculptural group, there are two stone vases. The right one is adorned with reliefs showing scenes from the legend about the saint. On the front side of the pedestal, there is the Latin inscription The zealot of God’s glory, make the enemies of Emperor Joseph tremble with fear: 1707. On both the right and the left, there is the same Latin inscription Erected and dedicated to incarnated God and St. Anthony of Padua by C.M.V.: 1707. By the feet of the saint, there used to be an ornamented lantern and a ribbon on the saint’s neck.

Anthony of Padua, O.F.M. (born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231), also known as Anthony of Lisbon, was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born and raised in a wealthy family in Lisbon. Noted by his contemporaries for his forceful preaching and expert knowledge of scripture, he was the second-fastest canonized saint (after St. Peter of Verona) and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 16 January 1946. St. Anthony is venerated all over the world as the Patron Saint for lost articles, and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods.

Infant Jesus (Child Jesus, Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Christ Child) refers to Jesus from his Nativity to age 12. At 13 he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time. The canonical gospels say nothing of Jesus' childhood between his infancy and the Finding in the Temple at the age of twelve. From about the third or fourth century onwards, the child Jesus is frequently shown in paintings, and sculpture. Commonly these are Nativity scenes showing the birth of Jesus, with his mother, Mary, and his legal father Joseph. Depictions as a baby with his mother, known as Madonna and Child, are iconographical types in Eastern and Western traditions. Other scenes from his time as a baby, of his circumcision, presentation at the temple, the Adoration of the Three Magi, and the Flight to Egypt, are common. Scenes showing his developing years are more rare but not unknown. [wiki]