Mariano Benlliure y Gil (8 September 18629 November 1947) was a Spanish sculptor and medallist, who executed many public monuments and religious sculptures in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, working in a heroic realist style.

Life and works

He was born in the Lower Street of the Carmen neighborhood of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. His earliest sculptures featured

bullfight Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

ing themes, modeled in wax and cast in bronze. At the age of thirteen he showed a wax ''

modello A modello (plural modelli), from Italian, is a preparatory study or model, usually at a smaller scale, for a work of art or architecture, especially one produced for the approval of the commissioning patron. The term gained currency in art circl ...

'' of a

picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...

at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, 1876. Pursuing the thought of becoming a painter, he went to Paris his expenses paid by his master,

Francisco Domingo Marqués Francisco José Domingo y Marqués (12 March 1842 – 22 July 1920) was a Spanish painter in the Eclectic style. Biography He was born in Valencia, where he began his studies at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos, as a student of ...

. A trip to Rome in 1879, revealing at first hand the sculptures of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

convinced him to be a sculptor. In 1887 he established himself permanently in Madrid, where in that year's Exposición Nacional his portrait sculpture of the painter Ribera won him a first-prize. Benlliure's style is characterized by detailed naturalism allied to an

impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

spontaneity. His portrait busts and public monuments are numerous, and include: * the tomb of

Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar (21 July 1825 – 5 January 1903) was a Spanish civil engineer and politician who served as Prime Minister on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of the Liberal Party—as part of th ...

in the

Pantheon of Illustrious Men The Pantheon of Illustrious Men ( es, Panteón de Hombres Ilustres) is a royal site in Madrid, under the administration of the Patrimonio Nacional. It was designed by Spanish architect Fernando Arbós y Tremanti, and is located in Basilica of N ...

, Madrid * monument to

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and cent ...

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

* the monument to Álvaro de Bazán,

Plaza de la Villa The plaza de la Villa is an urban square in central Madrid, Spain. The square, bordering the Calle Mayor, houses some of the oldest buildings still around in the city. History and description It lies in the Palacio neighborhood, part of the ...

, Madrid. * the

monument to Isabella the Catholic The Monument to Isabella the Catholic ( Spanish: ''Monumento a Isabel la Católica'') is an instance of public art located in Madrid, Spain. A work by , the monument is a sculptural bronze ensemble consisting of an equestrian statue of Isabella of ...

, Granada * the

monument to General Cassola The Monument to Lieutenant General Manuel Cassola is an instance of public art in Madrid, Spain. It consists of a bronze statue of Manuel Cassola designed by Mariano Benlliure topping off a stone pedestal. History and description The monument wa ...

, Parque del Oeste, Madrid * the monument to Maria Christina of Bourbon, Madrid * the bronze equestrian statue of the

monument to Alfonso XII The Monument to Alfonso XII ( es, Monumento a Alfonso XII) is located in Buen Retiro Park (''El Retiro''), Madrid, Spain. The monument is situated on the east edge of an artificial lake near the center of the park. In 1902, a national contest wa ...

, in Madrid's El Retiro, the centerpiece of a memorial designed by architect

José Grases Riera José Grases Riera (25 April 1850 – 12 February 1919) was a Spanish architect from Barcelona. Born in Barcelona, Grases graduated from the School of Architecture in Barcelona in 1878 and moved to Madrid shortly after. Through to the turn of ...

. * the monument to Agustina de Aragón, in Zaragoza. * the monument to Castelar, in Madrid. * the monument to Arsenio Martínez Campos, in El Retiro. * the monument to Miguel Primo de Rivera, in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

. * the

monument to Antonio Maura The Monument to Antonio Maura is an instance of public art in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Designed by Mariano Benlliure, it consists of a sculptural ensemble dedicated to Antonio Maura. History and description The monument was funded by popular sub ...

, in

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

. * the monument to Cuba, in El Retiro, with help from

Miquel Blay Miguel Blay y Fàbregas (in Catalan, ''Miquel Blay i Fàbregas'') (8 October 1866, Olot - 22 January 1936, Madrid) was a Spanish sculptor. Biography Blay was born in the city of Olot, in the province of Girona to a humble family. He begins ...

, Francisco Asorey and Juan Cristóbal (completed by 1930, unveiled in 1952). Mariano Benlliure was the engraver of the first Peseta coins issued in 1947 showing the head of

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

. He was depicted on the Spanish 500 ptas banknote in the 1950s, with his sculpture "Sepulcro De Gayarre en el Roncal" on the reverse. His brothers

José José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

and were also painters.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benlliure, Mariano 1862 births 1947 deaths 19th-century Spanish sculptors 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male sculptors 20th-century Spanish sculptors 20th-century Spanish male artists Orientalist painters People from Valencia