Statue of Velázquez (Madrid)
{{short description|Monument in Madrid}}
{{Infobox monument
| name = Velázquez
| image = Estatua de Velázquez del Museo del Prado - 02.jpg
| caption =
| location = Paseo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
| designer = Aniceto Marinas (statue)
{{ill|Vicente Lampérez y Romea|es|lt=Vicente Lampérez}} (pedestal)
| type =
| length =
| width =
| height = 3.5 m
| weight =
| begin =
| complete =
| open = 14 June 1899
| restore =
| dismantled =
| dedicated_to = Diego de Velázquez
| map_name =
| map_text =
| map_width =
| map_relief =
| coordinates = {{coord|40.413736|N|3.692689|W|type:landmark_region:ES|display=inline,title}}
}}
Velázquez or the Statue of Velázquez is an instance of public art in Madrid, Spain. Located in front of the main gate of the Prado Museum, it is dedicated to Diego de Velázquez.
History and description
The statue was an idea of the Círculo de Bellas Artes.{{sfn|Lorente Lorente|2003|p=153}}
The statue was cast at Masriera & Campins' foundry in Barcelona,{{sfn|Lorente Lorente|2003|p=153}} using bronze gifted by the Spanish State. Modelled by Aniceto Marinas, the statue features a seated Velázquez, with his palette and brush at rest.{{sfn|García Moro|2005|p=110}} The Velázquez's hand gesture imitates that of the painter's self-portrait in Las Meninas.{{sfn|Lorente Lorente|2003|p=154}}
A work by {{ill|Vicente Lampérez|es}} and funded by the Society of Architects,{{sfn|Lorente Lorente|2003|p=153}} the pedestal, standing 1.90 metre high, is a cube made of white stone from Monóvar. On its front side, it features the name of "Velázquez" surmounted by a star. The left and right sides of the plinth are carved with the '1599' and '1660' dates, respectively. Meanwhile, the back side of the cube reads "Los artistas españoles por iniciativa del Círculo de Bellas Artes — 1899" ("the Spanish artists under the initiative of the Circle of Fine Arts — 1899").{{Cite journal|journal=La Correspondencia de España|url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000455742&page=2|page=2|issn=1137-1188|title=Velázquez|issue=15108|volume=50|date=15 June 1899}}
The monument was unveiled on 14 June 1899,{{Sfn|Reyero|2003|p=52}} as part of the festivities for the 300th anniversary of the birth of the painter. The ceremony of inauguration was attended by the royal family (including the Queen Regent Maria Christina and the King Alfonso XIII),{{sfn|Lorente Lorente|2003|p=153}} the ministers of Public Works and the Navy, {{ill|Santiago de Liniers y Gallo Alcántara|es|Santiago de Liniers y Gallo Alcántara|lt=Santiago de Liniers}}, Francisco Romero Robledo, Repullés y Vargas, Benlliure and Ruiz Guerrero. Some of the speakers during the ceremony included French painters Carolus-Duran and Jean-Paul Laurens, and Edward Poynter, president of the British Royal Academy.{{Cite journal|title=Monumento á Velázquez|pages=2–3|volume=19|issue=5051|date=15 June 1899|issn=2387-0001|location=Madrid|url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0029753051&page=3|journal=La Izquierda Dinástica}}
References
;Citations
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
- {{Cite journal|issn=0210-7260|url=https://portal.uah.es/portal/page/portal/epd2_profesores/prof147845/publicaciones/E.%20SEGOVIANOS.%20105.%20263-280.U%D1%D3N..pdf|first=José María|last=García Moro|title=Tres escultores segovianos: Aniceto Marinas, Emiliano Barral y Toribio Gracia|journal=Estudios Segovianos|volume=48|pages=103–118|year=2005|issue=105|publisher=Diputación Provincial de Segovia|location=Segovia}}
- {{Cite book|last=Lorente Lorente|first=Jesús Pedro|chapter=Pintura y escultura de Historia. Los grandes artistas a las puertas de los museos|editor-first=María del Carmen|editor-last=Lacarra Ducay|editor-first2=Cristina|title=Historia y política a través de la escultura pública 1820–1920|editor-last2=Giménez Navarro|year=2003|isbn=84-7820-686-8|pages=145–172|chapter-url=https://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/21/47/07lorente.pdf|location=Zaragoza|publisher=Institución Fernando el Católico}}
- {{Cite book|last=Reyero|first=Carlos|chapter=Monumentalizar la capital. La escultura conmemorativa en Madrid durante el siglo XIX|title=Historia y política a través de la escultura pública 1820–1920|editor-first=María del Carmen|editor-last=Lacarra Ducay|editor-first2=Cristina|editor-last2=Giménez Navarro|year=2003|isbn=84-7820-686-8|pages=41–62|chapter-url=https://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/21/47/03reyero.pdf|location=Zaragoza|publisher=Institución Fernando el Católico}}
{{Diego Velázquez}}
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Category:Monuments and memorials in Madrid
Category:Outdoor sculptures in Madrid
Category:Sculptures of men in Spain
Category:Sculptures in the Museo del Prado
Category:Bronze sculptures in Spain
Category:Buildings and structures in Jerónimos neighborhood, Madrid