''Valle-Inclán'', is a sculpture created by the Spanish sculptor César Lombera, located in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

(Spain). It is located in Plaza Méndez Núñez and was inaugurated on 26 June 2003.

History

At the beginning of the 21st century, Pontevedra City Council decided to install a monument to the writer

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Br ...

in the city because of his great relationship with Pontevedra and to compensate for the removal, in 1952, of a bust of this universal writer from the gardens of the Palm Trees Park, which was donated to the municipality of

A Pobra do Caramiñal A Pobra do Caramiñal is a town and municipality at the entrance of one of the lower bays of the Galician coastline known as the Ría de Arousa in the province of A Coruña, Spain. It is located in the autonomous community of Galicia. A Pobra d ...

. It was decided to install it in the Plaza Méndez Núñez, opposite the house of the Muruais (the brothers Jesús and Andrés), in whose important library it was trained and entered the world of literature. The sculpture cost 16,000 euros.

was born in

Vilanova de Arousa Vilanova de Arousa (; unofficial ) is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of O Salnés O Salnés is a ''Comarcas of Galicia, comarca'' in the Galicia (Spain), Gal ...

in the

province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain, located in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, and Ourense, the country of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. There is a public insti ...

. After studying there with the help of his father, the whole family moved to the capital of the province,

, where his father had succeeded in being appointed secretary of the Gobierno Civil, the Government Delegation in the

Province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain, located in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, and Ourense, the country of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. There is a public insti ...

. He began his secondary studies at the Provincial High School of Pontevedra in 1877. During this time, Jesús Muruáis, a French and Latin teacher and friend of his father's, influenced him in literary terms. He read

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his no ...

, Quevedo and the Viscount of Chateaubriand, as well as military works and works on the history of Galicia. On 29 April 1885, he completed his secondary education at the age of nineteen. He studied law at the

University of Santiago de Compostela The University of Santiago de Compostela - USC (, ) is a public university located in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. A second campus is located in Lugo, Galicia. It is one of the world's oldest universities in continuous o ...

, which he did not complete. After another stay in Pontevedra in 1890 he went to

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 ...

. He returned to

in 1892 and then went to Mexico. He returned to

in 1893 to relieve his nostalgia. He befriended Jesus Muruáis, in whose library he could read the most important European writers of the time. He often went to the Café Moderno and exhibited his particular dialectic that would later make him famous. In 1895 he published his first book of stories in the city: ''Femeninas''. It was at this time that Valle-Inclán adopted the attire of young French writers: a cape, a hat and, above all, a long beard. He lived in

in a house in the Plaza de las Cinco Calles (''Praza das Cinco Rúas'') until 1896, when, at the age of 29, he moved to

Description

The figure of the writer is installed on one side of the square, in an attitude of exit from the House of the Muruáis, where he used to go to their library, one of the best in Pontevedra, and attend cultural events. The sculpture is in bronze and depicts the writer as a

life-size ''Life-Size'' is a 2000 American fantasy comedy television film directed by Mark Rosman and starring Lindsay Lohan and Tyra Banks. It originally premiered on March 5, 2000, on ABC as part of '' The Wonderful World of Disney'' block. Lohan p ...

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

, wearing a hat, double-breasted jacket and carrying a cane. He wears a moustache, glasses and his characteristic long beard. It weighs half a tonne and measures 1.75 metres. The sculpture is based on the classic image of the writer and more precisely on a photograph of him walking along the

Paseo de Recoletos Paseo de Recoletos is a wide boulevard in central Madrid leading from Plaza de Cibeles to Plaza de Colón. From west to east it consists of: * Two southward lanes * The pedestrian walk * A southward bus lane * Three southward lanes * Three north ...

in Madrid.

Gallery

File:Fotos Galicia II 027.jpg, The statue by night File:Pontevedra, 12.jpg, ''Valle-Inclán'' in the Méndez Núñez Square File:La mirada de Valle Inclán (12168831883).jpg, Face of the statue File:Pontevedra-A los pies de Valle (7108728487).jpg, The statue on the square File:Pontevedra Capital Plaza Méndez Núñez Arco y estatua Valle-Inclán.jpg, ''Valle-Inclán'' in front of the Muruais' house File:Plaza Mendez Nuñez, Pontevedra.JPG, The statue in front of the Muruais' house File:Pontevedra, Valle Inclán 01-02.jpg, Valle-Inclán's house in the Plaza de las Cinco Calles

References

Bibliography

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External links