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Francisco José Narváez (4 October 1905,
/ref> He returned to Venezuela in 1931 and, a few years later, began to work with the architect
Fundación Francisco Narváez: Chronology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narvaez, Francisco Venezuelan sculptors 1905 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Venezuelan sculptors Male sculptors People from Porlamar
Francisco José Narváez (4 October 1905, Porlamar
Porlamar () is the most populated city, major seaport and major center in the state of Nueva Esparta, Venezuela. It is situated on the southern coast of Margarita Island, one of three islands in the Caribbean Sea off the South American mainland wh ...
– 13 July 1982, Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
) was a Venezuelan sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
and painter who is perhaps best known for "Las Toninas", a sculptural group that decorates the fountain of the Plaza O'Leary in Caracas. His work is characterized by a strong ethnic component and he made extensive use of local materials.
Life and works
Narváez was the son of acabinetmaker
A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...
and restorer. While he was still very young, the family moved to Caracas and he began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1928, he left for Paris where he attended the Académie Julian
The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...
and established connections with the artistic community in Montparnasse
Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...
.Venezuela Tuya: Francisco Narváez/ref> He returned to Venezuela in 1931 and, a few years later, began to work with the architect
Carlos Raúl Villanueva
Carlos Raúl Villanueva Astoul (May 30, 1900 – August 16, 1975) was a Venezuelan Modern architecture, modernist architect. Raised in Europe, Villanueva went for the first time to Venezuela when he was 28 years old. He was involved in the dev ...
, who commissioned him to supply sculptures for his projects, including the Plaza of Carabobo Park, the facade for the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Natural Sciences and the Plaza O'Leary.
In 1939, he travelled to New York to decorate the Venezuelan pavilion at the World's Fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
and exhibited his works "Café y Frutas" (now in the Andrés Bello
Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López (; November 29, 1781 – October 15, 1865) was a Venezuelan Humanism, humanist, diplomat, poet, legislator, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute a ...
Lyceum) and "Perlas y Cacao" (now in the Fermín Toro
Fermín Toro y Blanco (Caracas- El Valle, 14 July 1806 - Caracas, 23 December 1865) was a Venezuelan humanist, politician, diplomat and author.
Biography
Within his public life he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, twice Minister of Finance (in ...
Lyceum).
In 1941, Narváez received the Premio Nacional de Escultura of Venezuela, and, in 1948, the Premio Nacional de Pintura of Venezuela. The recognitions established him as a leader of modernism
Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
in Venezuela.
In 1952, he completed an equestrian statue
An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...
of Rafael Urdaneta
Rafael José Urdaneta y Farías (October 24, 1788 – August 23, 1845) was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence. After overthrowing President Joaquín Mosquera in a 1830 military coup, he served as Pre ...
which is now on display in the Plaza La Candelaria. Later, he collaborated with Villanueva to create several pieces for the University City of Caracas
The University City of Caracas (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas''), also known by the acronym CUC, is the main campus of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), located in central Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. ...
, which was conceived as a "synthesis of the Arts". "Education", "Science", "The Athlete" and the bust of José María Vargas
José María Vargas Ponce (10 March 1786, in La Guaira – 13 April 1854, in New York City) was the president of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836. He was elected in the 1834 Venezuelan presidential election, the first free and fair elections in ...
are some of his works located on the campus of the Central University of Venezuela
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
.
In 1981 and 1982, he created two sculptures of monumental proportions. One of them, "Gran Volumen", was made for the Amuay Refinery Complex and the other, one of his last completed works, the "Armonía de Volúmenes y Espacio", was for Caracas Metro
The Caracas Metro () is a mass rapid transit system serving Caracas, Venezuela. It was constructed and is operated by Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas, a government-owned company that was founded in 1977 by José González-Lander who ...
. It is located in a plaza that was later named for him.
See also
*Art of Francisco Narváez in University City of Caracas
Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
References
External links
Fundación Francisco Narváez: Chronology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narvaez, Francisco Venezuelan sculptors 1905 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Venezuelan sculptors Male sculptors People from Porlamar