I’ve met a lot of strange and interesting people in my life, no doubt about that. Some strange enough to burn an impression in my memory with even the most casual of encounters. One memorable eccentric I met was an artist, of a sort, sometimes known as “The Devil of Prague”. I ran into him several times on Prague’s famous Charles Bridge.
Prague still felt a little exotic in 1996 and the new country of Czechia (Czech Republic) was still shaking off the Eastern Bloc rust. There was an “anything goes” kind of vibe in this former Holy Roman capital. For backpackers, it was a godsend: cheap rooms, cheap souvenirs, delicious beer and hearty Bohemian food. It also happened to be stunningly beautiful, crowned by it’s magnificent castle and cathedral high on the hill across the river.
On those snowy days and chilly evenings of February 1996 Vera and I would walk across the Charles Bridge on the way back to our hostel. Even in the cold, the hard working artists and buskers were performing along the statue-studded bridge. It was close to the Lesser Town (Mala Strana) bridge tower, that I met the Devil for the first time.
The Devil ran up to us, wearing what looked like horns on his head and gestured to his large easel holding his artwork. He said “Pickshee? buy my pickshee? in a hoarse voice, but as we went over, we notice his art was a little strange. From what we could tell, it was all just pictures of his face, wearing his devil horns, sometime with his tongue sticking out. We didn’t understand and moved on so the Devil could approach the next group.
In the evening when a bunch of us would head to the bars, we’d be startled by the rusting of plastic that covered over his works and apparently himself. He was bundled up, sleeping in a lawn chair, covered in a clear plastic tarp. At the time I assumed he was homeless, but now I think he was just keeping long hours. We ran into the Devil more or less in this manner, for about a week, before continuing on our adventure.
The Devil Endures
From: photopost.cz
I will always love Prague, but there was already a big difference in the vibe during my 2001 trip with Danielle. Everything was much more touristy and it was the start of all the tacky tourist traps that line the way to the Charles Bridge today. It was also fall, so the place was more crowded. However there were some familiar faces from my first visit.
I was glad to see some of the same buskers were there on the bridge, like the marionette that played the piano and Prague’s Dixieland Band. As we made it to the Mala Strana side of the bridge, there he was, deep in concentration sketching his face. His stand was up with all the devil images for sale. Once again most of the tourists and travelers walked away confused. I showed Danielle his sketches and told her about my earlier encounters. We didn’t stay on this side of town, so unlike 1996, we didn’t have the opportunity to see the Devil as much. This is my total experience with this strange character.
I don’t know why he stuck out in my mind all these years, but with a blog to fill and resources at my disposal I went out searching for the Devil. From a few sources, mostly in Czech, I was able to learn a little bit more about this well-known eccentric. Over the decades, the “Devil of Prague” became as much a tourist landmark as the Charles Bridge itself.
Antonin “Tonda” Votava (1943 -2009): Prague’s Devil
Kamenny Most (1996)
The Devil (Čert in Czech and Čertovka in Slovak) had been on the bridge so long that he became a legend among the other artists and performers. His real name was Antonín “Tonda” Votava, but confusingly, has also been known as Antonín Opava in exhibitions. Antonin began to sell his works on Charles Bridge in 1968 and continued until his death in October 2009. His work also included busy sketches of the Charles Bridge and other sights, but always returned to drawing his face as a devil with horns.
Insight about the life of Tonda the Devil was revealed in a Czech article written after his death. Apparently there is one artist that was there in the 1960s before the Devil arrived. Jan Dvorak, known as “the Master” remembers when Tonda arrived to paint on Charles Bridge. Back then, in the throes of the Prague Spring, the Communist controlled Police would harass and chase the artists from the bridge. They were especially cruel to Tonda, making fun of him tearing up his paintings. Dvorak recalled that it didn’t stop the Devil, he just showed up on the other side of the bridge and got back to work.
Antonin’s eccentricity led to him becoming a local legend. A rumor spread that the Devil was once a professor who lost his mind. There was another rumor that he actually owned a studio in the historic Old Town. He always seemed strange based on the anecdotes, but this only increased over time. Over the years it was discovered he had Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which got worse and accentuated his already eccentric behavior.
You can get a short glimpse of the Devil’s strangeness in the 1996 Czech film Kamenny Most (The Stone Bridge). The opening minutes show many of the performers that I remember from visiting Prague earlier that same year. At the end of the scene is the Devil, making one of his silly faces, tongue out, horns on, selling his strange devil portraits.
There are still unanswered questions about his life, but apparently Tonda was married and had two sons. They lived in the Michle section of Prague, about a 45 minute commute to Charles Bridge by tram. How he managed to support them is a mystery, by the end it was said he was not selling much art. He was there every day, long into the night until one day he didn’t show up.
It didn’t take long for people to wonder what became of this Prague landmark. It was reported that he died in his wife’s arms in the ambulance. How he died may be associated with his MS or other conditions, but his friend Jan Dvorak speculated he died of sadness. The increasing throngs of tourists on the bridge increasingly ignored this relic of a wackier, more fun Prague.
The Devil’s Legacy Lives On
The Devil’s passing and disappearing from the Bridge scene left a hole that will never be filled. He became a permanent fixture on the Charles Bridge, nearly as permanent as the religious statues that line it. His free expression, strange as it was, resonated with the times and with the artistic legacy of Prague. An embodiment of this “City of One Hundred Spires” emerging from its Communist slumber.
It’s one of those instances where, your really don’t know how special a person is until they are gone. Of all the tacky beer steins and faux Soviet junk I brought back, I would have been far happier today with a souvenir from Tonda the Devil.
Thankfully, the Devil is not forgotten. Before his passing in 2009. The National Gallery in Prague purchased 11 works from the Devil for its collections. According to one Czech article, they paid him the equivalent of $40 for his most expensive piece.
In 2016, Czech heavy metal band Master’s Hammer honored the Devil with their song “Votava” on their album Formulae. I don’t know why, but I feel this song really captures the crazy vibe I got from him on those cold, drunken nights. If anyone knows the lyrics, I’d love to know what they are saying.
A big thank you to Helena from Prague City Tourism for helping me track down information sources.
Sources/More Information
Armstrong, Luke. The Devil is Dead on Prague’s Charles Bridge. from Travelmag.co.uk October, 2013
Malostranske Novini: March 2010
Národní galerie skoro jako charitativní organizace. from CT24 News. June 4, 2009
The Historical Vagabond 