Ricardo Bellver (Madrid, 23 February 1845 — Madrid, 20 December 1924) was a Spanish sculptor.
Ricardo Bellver | |
|---|---|
 Ricardo Bellver (1891) | |
| Born | 23 February 1845 Madrid, Spain |
| Died | 20 December 1924 (aged 79) Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Education | sculptor |
| Notable work | The Fallen Angel (Fuente Del Ángel Caído) |
Biography edit
Bellver studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, and finished his sculptural education in Rome as a grant holder.
He became well known because of his sculpture The Fallen Angel (El Ángel Caído, 1877), a work inspired by a passage from John Milton's Paradise Lost,[1] and which represents Lucifer falling from Heaven. The sculpture (see picture), of great dramatism and originality, was awarded the first place medal at the Spanish National Fine Arts Exhibition in 1878, and the same year it was cast in bronze for the third Paris World's Fair. Later on, the Prado Museum donated it to the City of Madrid, and in 1885 it was installed in a square with the same name in the Retiro Park (the largest one in Madrid). For that purpose, architect Francisco Jareño (1818–1892) designed a pedestal of granite, bronze and stone. The success of this work made Bellver been accepted as academician. He was director of the Arts and Works School in Madrid.
Other works of Bellver are in the Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great, the Seville Cathedral, Saint Joseph Church in Madrid, Saint Isidore Cemetery and the Palacio de Fomento building in Madrid.
Works edit
- Saint Ines Burial (bas-relief) in the Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great, Madrid.
- The Fallen Angel, (El Ángel Caído), in Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid.
- Saint Agatha death, bas-relief (1888).
- Saint Expeditus carving (1916), in San Vicente Martir de Abando Church (Bilbao).
- Juan Sebastián Elcano Statue (1888) in Mayor Hall Square in Guetaria (Guipúzcoa).
- Neogotical doors of Seville cathedral.
- Funerary monument of Luis de la Lastra y Cuesta, Seville Cathedral, Capilla del Cristo de Maracaibo (1880).
- Saint Bartolomew and Saint Andrew, in the Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great, Madrid.
- Monument to Goya, Donoso Cortés, Moratín and Meléndez Valdés, Saint Isidore Cemetery, Madrid.
- Cardinal Siliceo sepulchre at the Real Colegio de Doncellas Nobles.
Notes edit
- ^ Catálogo de la Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes ("Catalogue of the National Fine Arts Exhibition"), Madrid, 1878, p. 86-87. Mentioned by Carlos Reyero in book Escultura, museo y estado en la España del siglo XIX: historia, significado y catálogo de la colección nacional de escultura moderna, 1856-1906, Alicante, 2002, ISBN 84-931949-6-4
External links edit
Media related to Ricardo Bellver at Wikimedia Commons
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