Francisco José Narváez (4 October 1905,

Porlamar ) Pueblo de La Mar ( en, Village by the Sea) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Panoramic , image_flag = Bandera santiagomarino.jpg , image_seal = , pushpin_map =Venezuela , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivis ...

– 13 July 1982,

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as 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 ...

) 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 a

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/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 (s ...

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 Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

and established connections with the artistic community in Montparnasse.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 modernist architect. Villanueva went for the first time to Venezuela when he was 28 years old. He was involved in the development and modernization of Caracas, ...

, 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 or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

and exhibited his works "Café y Frutas" (now in the Andrés Bello 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 is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

in Venezuela.https://www.jcmac.art/artists/narvaez-francisco/ 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 d ...

of General

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. He served as President of Gran Colombia from 1830 until 1831. He was an ardent supporter ...

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: ''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. It was designed by ...

, 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. Vargas was Venezuela's first civilian president. He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the S ...

are some of his works located on the campus of the

Central University of Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in L ...

. 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. It is located in a plaza that was later named for him.

References

External links

Fundación Francisco Narváez: Chronology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narvaez, Francisco Venezuelan sculptors 1905 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Venezuelan sculptors Male sculptors People from Nueva Esparta

Life and works

See also

References

External links