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.

Mendizábal
Map
40°24′45″N 3°42′15″W / 40.412368°N 3.704239°W / 40.412368; -3.704239
LocationPlaza del Progreso, Madrid, Spain
DesignerJosé Gragera
MaterialBronze, stone
Opening date6 June 1869
Dedicated toJuan Álvarez Mendizábal
Dismantled date1939

History and description

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The red flag is put in the statue in 1873

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

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Citations
  1. ^ Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, pp. 505–506.
  2. ^ Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, p. 506.
  3. ^ Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, pp. 506–507.
  4. ^ a b c Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, p. 508.
  5. ^ a b c Alpuente 1986.
  6. ^ Van den Brule, Álvaro (1 February 2014). "Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, un revolucionario de guante blanco". El Confidencial.
  7. ^ a b Fraguas 2001.
  8. ^ Salvador Prieto 1993–1994, p. 509.
Bibliography