Sculpture of St. Anthony of Padua with Infant Jesus

The sculpture of St. Anthony of Padua with Infant Jesus was made by Prague-based sculptor Jan Oldřich Mayer in 1707. It was commissioned by Christopher Moritz Wittauer, a councilor of the Prague Castle Burgrave. This depiction of the prominent Franciscan saint on Charles Bridge is the counterpart to the sculpture of the order’s founder, St. Francis of Assisi. Anthony is typically depicted as a young, beardless monk in the order’s habit; the lily flower in his right hand, his typical attribute, is now missing. Infant Jesus tenderly rests on the saint’s left shoulder, standing on a book placed on the parapet of the kneeling bench. The saint’s left foot rests on the lower part of the bench; his whole body is depicted in a striking contrapposto.

The simple pedestal contains slabs made of white limestone, bearing votive inscriptions praying for the protection of Emperor Joseph I and the Kingdom of Bohemia. The marble slab bears on the pedestal the inscription: “DEO IN CARNATO, ET SNCTO ANTONIO DE PADVA”. (The chronogram in the inscription indicates the year 1707). On either side of the sculpture, mounted on the bridge parapet, there are two vases depicting miraculous scenes from the life of St. Anthony: the preaching to the fish, the rejection of wealth, the healing of a young man possessed by the devil, and a donkey kneeling before the host instead of its proud owner. One of the vases was replaced in 2010 with a copy by sculptor Jitka Hozová, made of Hořice sandstone.

During the restoration of the sculpture in 2024, a missing attribute was added – the lily in St. Anthony’s right hand.