Velazquez, 1899, dwarfing the Velazquez Entrance, Prado Museum, Paseo del Prado, Madrid
UNESCO Site, Paisaje de la Luz, designated 25th July, 2021
A question of perspective!
Velázquez or the Statue of Velázquez is an instance of public art in Madrid, Spain. Located in front of the main gate of the Prado Museum, it is dedicated to Diego de Velázquez.
History and description
The statue was an idea of the Círculo de Bellas Artes.[1] The statue was cast at Masriera & Campins' foundry in Barcelona,[1] using bronze gifted by the Spanish State.[2] Modelled by Aniceto Marinas, the statue features a seated Velázquez, with his palette and brush at rest.[3] The Velázquez's hand gesture imitates that of the painter's self-portrait in Las Meninas.[4]
A work by Vicente Lampérez [es] and funded by the Society of Architects,[1] the pedestal, standing 1.90 metre high, is a cube made of white stone from Monóvar.[2] On its front side, it features the name of "Velázquez" surmounted by a star.[2] The left and right sides of the plinth are carved with the '1599' and '1600' dates, respectively.[2] Meanwhile the back side of the cube reads "Los artistas españoles por iniciativa del Círculo de Bellas Artes — 1899" ("the Spanish artists under the initiative of the Circle of Fine Arts — 1899").[2]
The monument was unveiled on 14 June 1899,[5] as part of the festivities for the 300th anniversary of the birth of the painter. The ceremony of inauguration was attended by the Royal Family (including the Queen Regent Maria Christina and the King Alfonso XIII),[1] the ministers of Public Works and the Navy, Santiago de Liniers [es], Francisco Romero Robledo, Repullés y Vargas, Benlliure and Ruiz Guerrero.[6] Some of the speakers during the ceremony included French painters Carolus-Duran and Jean-Paul Laurens, and Edward Poynter, president of the British Royal Academy.[6]
The Prado
The Prado Museum (Spanish: Museo del Prado) is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to have one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and the single best collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it also contains important collections of other types of works. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered one of the greatest art museums in the world. The numerous works by Francisco Goya, the single most extensively represented artist, as well as by Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez, are some of the highlights of the collection.
The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to a large number of other works of art and historic documents. As of 2012, the museum displayed about 1,300 works in the main buildings, while around 3,100 works were on temporary loan to various museums and official institutions. The remainder were in storage.[3] The museum received 2.8 million visitors in 2012.[4] It is one of the largest museums in Spain.
The best-known work on display at the museum is Las Meninas by Velázquez. Velázquez and his keen eye and sensibility were also responsible for bringing much of the museum's fine collection of Italian masters to Spain, now the largest outside Italy.
The museum is planning a 16% extension in the nearby Salón de Reinos, to be opened in 2019.[5]
Wikipedia
Velazquez, 1899, dwarfing the Velazquez Entrance, Prado Museum, Paseo del Prado, Madrid
UNESCO Site, Paisaje de la Luz, designated 25th July, 2021
A question of perspective!
Velázquez or the Statue of Velázquez is an instance of public art in Madrid, Spain. Located in front of the main gate of the Prado Museum, it is dedicated to Diego de Velázquez.
History and description
The statue was an idea of the Círculo de Bellas Artes.[1] The statue was cast at Masriera & Campins' foundry in Barcelona,[1] using bronze gifted by the Spanish State.[2] Modelled by Aniceto Marinas, the statue features a seated Velázquez, with his palette and brush at rest.[3] The Velázquez's hand gesture imitates that of the painter's self-portrait in Las Meninas.[4]
A work by Vicente Lampérez [es] and funded by the Society of Architects,[1] the pedestal, standing 1.90 metre high, is a cube made of white stone from Monóvar.[2] On its front side, it features the name of "Velázquez" surmounted by a star.[2] The left and right sides of the plinth are carved with the '1599' and '1600' dates, respectively.[2] Meanwhile the back side of the cube reads "Los artistas españoles por iniciativa del Círculo de Bellas Artes — 1899" ("the Spanish artists under the initiative of the Circle of Fine Arts — 1899").[2]
The monument was unveiled on 14 June 1899,[5] as part of the festivities for the 300th anniversary of the birth of the painter. The ceremony of inauguration was attended by the Royal Family (including the Queen Regent Maria Christina and the King Alfonso XIII),[1] the ministers of Public Works and the Navy, Santiago de Liniers [es], Francisco Romero Robledo, Repullés y Vargas, Benlliure and Ruiz Guerrero.[6] Some of the speakers during the ceremony included French painters Carolus-Duran and Jean-Paul Laurens, and Edward Poynter, president of the British Royal Academy.[6]
The Prado
The Prado Museum (Spanish: Museo del Prado) is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to have one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and the single best collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it also contains important collections of other types of works. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered one of the greatest art museums in the world. The numerous works by Francisco Goya, the single most extensively represented artist, as well as by Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez, are some of the highlights of the collection.
The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to a large number of other works of art and historic documents. As of 2012, the museum displayed about 1,300 works in the main buildings, while around 3,100 works were on temporary loan to various museums and official institutions. The remainder were in storage.[3] The museum received 2.8 million visitors in 2012.[4] It is one of the largest museums in Spain.
The best-known work on display at the museum is Las Meninas by Velázquez. Velázquez and his keen eye and sensibility were also responsible for bringing much of the museum's fine collection of Italian masters to Spain, now the largest outside Italy.
The museum is planning a 16% extension in the nearby Salón de Reinos, to be opened in 2019.[5]
Wikipedia