Monument to Mendizábal (Madrid)
The monument to Mendizábal was an instance of public art in Madrid, Spain. Located in the Plaza del Progreso, it consisted of a bronze statue of Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, architect of the Liberal reforms in Spain in the 1830s, and a stone pedestal. It was removed in 1939.
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| Coordinates | 40.412368°N 3.704239°W |
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| Location | Plaza del Progreso, Madrid, Spain |
| Designer | José Gragera |
| Material | Bronze, stone |
| Opening date | 6 June 1869 |
| Dedicated to | Juan Álvarez Mendizábal |
| Dismantled date | 1939 |
History and description
A work by José Gragera, commissioned after the death of Mendizábal in 1853, it was cast in bronze by Eck & Durand in Paris.[1] It arrived to Madrid in 1857.[2] Following a series of delays regarding the indecision on the location of the monument, works to install it in the Plaza del Progreso started in 1868.[3] The monument was unveiled on 6 June 1869,[4] during a ceremony attended by the General Serrano and a small boy, grandson of Mendizábal.[5]
The politician wore a levite, pants and a gilet, with his left hand performing the hand-in-waistcoat pose.[4] The prismatic plinth was an austere work lacking in ornamental details and it reportedly lacked an inscription referencing the name of the politician until 1904.[4][5]
Following the entry of the Francoist troops in Madrid in 1939 towards the end of Spanish Civil War, the monument was toppled from its location.[6][7] The bronze may have been recast in another monument.[7] The plaza del Progreso was renamed as "Plaza de Tirso de Molina" and a sculpture of the later figure replaced the original monument in 1943.[5][8]
References
- Citations
- Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, pp. 505–506.
- Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, p. 506.
- Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, pp. 506–507.
- Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, p. 508.
- Alpuente 1986.
- Van den Brule, Álvaro (1 February 2014). "Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, un revolucionario de guante blanco". El Confidencial.
- Fraguas 2001.
- Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, p. 509.
- Bibliography
- Alpuente, Moncho (16 February 1986). "Tirso de Molina". El País.
- Fraguas, Rafael (12 March 2001). "En busca de la estatua de Juan Álvarez Mendizábal". El País.
- Salvador Prieto, María Socorro (1993–1994). "Precisiones a un monumento escultórico madrileño desaparecido: Mendizábal". Anales de historia del arte. Madrid: Ediciones Complutense. 4: 505–512. ISSN 0214-6452.