José Luis Zorrilla de San Martín (5 September 1891 – 24 May 1975) was a

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

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 Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. One of the pivotal sculptors from Uruguay, his most significant impact was through the monuments he created in the capital city of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. His style displayed elements of aesthetic

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

incorporated with modern sculpture.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in 1891, he was the son of the writer Juan Zorrilla de San Martín, who served in the court of

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

as Ambassador of Uruguay. For three years he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he met Carlos Federico Sáez and would prove a strong influence in his interest and artistic style later. He settled in Montevideo in 1898. His first oil painting portraits dating from 1906 show a great influence from Sáez. He studied at the Círculo de Bellas Artes with painter Vicente Puig, and later received lessons from the sculptor Philip Menini (1909). Between 1911 and 1914, his work was first exhibited.

Life in Europe

After receiving a scholarship from the Uruguayan government in 1914 to study in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, he had to stay in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

due to the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He returned to Uruguay the following year and entered the Legislative Palace as an assistant sculptor. He won the International Competition to erect the monument ''Andalusia Gaucho'' (1922) and already married to Guma Muñoz del Campo, moved with their two daughters (Inés and Concepción) to Paris soon after, where he set up a workshop and studied under the sculptor

Antoine Bourdelle Antoine Bourdelle (; 30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important ...

. The monument should be based in Brussels, as the best casting workshop of the French capital was occupied in the works of

, who later would be linked as a disciple and friend. That same year, he made "Old vizcacha" and the statue of José Gervasio Artigas in

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. From that time is "Saint Joseph and Child", aimed at a church in the island of Saint Louis. Parallel attended workshops Maillol, Despiau and Drivier. He unveiled the Fountain of the Athletes in 1925 at the Salon d'Automne, which received the silver medal; the work is now located in Rodó Park, Montevideo.

Return to Uruguay

In 1925 he returned to Uruguay and the following year the monument was inaugurated. Work of years: a monument to the Battle of Sarandi (1930), decoration of the chapel of the Prison for Women (1930), equestrian statue of the Grito de Asencio (1936) and the Obelisk of Montevideo (''Obelisco a los Constituyentes de 1830'') (1936, sparkling granite 41 meters high with three allegorical bronze installed in the Parque José Batlle y Ordóñez de Montevideo). He won the international competition for the equestrian monument to Argentine General Julio Roca (1937) and opened a workshop in Buenos Aires for its completion. That year the Bishop of recumbent monuments Mariano Soler, First Archbishop of Montevideo, located in the Cathedral of that city. He was invited to attend the Paris Exposition of 1937 and declared a "guest of honor." He was, in turn, invited in 1940 to travel to the United States by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. Between 1940 and 1961, Zorrilla was the Director of the National Museum of Visual Arts in Montevideo. He created a monument to Artigas in 1947 to be placed in the

Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay (also known as Banco República or BROU) is a state-owned commercial bank in Uruguay, founded in 1896 under the presidency of Juan Idiarte Borda. The most important Uruguayan bank with the largest number of customers, it plays a dominant role ...

(unveiled in 1949). The Monument to Artigas, commissioned by the government of Argentina, was made in 1960, but its unveiling in

Recoleta, Buenos Aires Recoleta is a ''barrio'' or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the northern part of the city, by the Río de la Plata. The area is perhaps best known to be the home of the distinguished Recoleta Cemetery. It is a traditional up ...

, was delayed until 1971. He completed a monument to Artigas in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and following its unveiling in 1966, was awarded the title of '' Commendatore'' by the

government of Italy The government of Italy is that of a democratic republic, established by the Italian constitution in 1948. It consists of Legislature, legislative, Executive (government), executive, and Judiciary, judicial subdivisions, as well as of a head of ...

. Another statue, ''El Viejo Pancho'', located in the Plaza de la Libertad de Montevideo street, dates from 1969. Following lengthy proceedings, on 24 September 1997, the Uruguayan Ambassador Julio Pombo and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Mayor

Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...

unveiled a monument to General Artigas, located in

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, between

Avenue of the Americas Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The avenue is commercial for much of its length, and traffic runs northbound, or uptown. Sixth Avenue begins four blocks b ...

and Spring Street. Among the personalities that attended this inauguration, the Uruguayan ambassador, Foreign Affairs minister Álvaro Ramos; the President of the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

, Enrique V. Iglesias; and NY City Parks Department Director, Henry Stern. His workshop in Punta Carretas is a museum next to the Museo Zorrilla.

Death

Zorrilla died in Montevideo at 84 years of age.

References

External links

José Luis Zorrilla de San Martín

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zorrilla de San Martin, Jose 1891 births 1975 deaths Artists from Madrid 20th-century Uruguayan sculptors Uruguayan male sculptors 20th-century Uruguayan painters Uruguayan male painters 20th-century Uruguayan male artists Uruguayan sculptors Uruguayan people of Spanish descent Artists from Montevideo