Lamenting of Christ on Charles Bridge / Oplakávání Krista na Karlove moste (Prague)
N 50° 05.178 E 014° 24.739
33U E 457958 N 5548391
Depicted sculptural group of Pietà (Lamenting of Christ/Oplakávání Krista) is one of 31 historic statues (...or groups) decorating famous Gothic Charles Bridge (Karluv most) in Prague' centre.
Waymark Code: WMNG8B
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/10/2015
Views: 59
Depicted sculptural group of Pietà (Lamenting of Christ/Oplakávání Krista) 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.
Pietà (Lamenting of Christ) sculptural group is the 3rd one on the left looking from the Old Town Bridge Tower. The sculptural group, work of Emanuel Max (1859), was paid for by the city of Prague from funds collected among people. The group represents the Virgin Mary and St. Mary Magdalene mourning the dead Jesus Christ, St. John the Evangelist standing behind them and a crucifix with the inscription INRI towering over them. On the pedestal, there is the Latin inscription O all you who pass this way, look and see whether there is any sorrow like my sorrow.
The Pietà (Lamenting of Christ) is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ. When Christ and the Virgin are surrounded by other figures from the New Testament, the subject is strictly called a Lamentation in English, although Pietà is often used for this as well, and is the normal term in Italian.