BRAUN, MATYAS BERNARD. - Sculptor, born in 1684 at Ötz in Tyrol, died 15 Feb. 1738 in Prague.
He was trained and carried on his activity exclusively in Bohemia, to whose artistic history he wholly belongs. A typical exponent of the mature Baroque taste, he gave his works an ornamental character, effectively integrating them into the landscape effect of cities; outstanding examples are the statues for Charles Bridge in Prague (the group of St. Luitgarda and the statue of St. Ivo, respectively of 1710 and 1711), the votive columns of Teplice (1718) and Jaromer (1723-27), and the thirteen saints around the church of Lysa.
Other notable works are: Christ on the Cross in the conventual church of Plasy, the altars and confessionals of the church of S. Clemente in Prague (1712-15), the statues of the Evangelists, of eight angels, of St. Venceslao and Procopio at Litomyšl, St. Uberto and the stag with the Cross on the property of the Sporck family at Kuks. Well known is the sarcophagus of Count Slik in the cathedral of S. Vito in Prague.