Monument to Galdós (Madrid)

Galdós or the Monument to Galdós is a sculpture in Madrid, Spain. A work by Victorio Macho, it is dedicated to Benito Pérez Galdós. It lies on the southern part of El Retiro.

Galdós
Coordinates40.412069°N 3.680151°W / 40.412069; -3.680151
LocationEl Retiro, Madrid, Spain
DesignerVictorio Macho
MaterialGranite
Opening date20 January 1919
Dedicated toBenito Pérez Galdós

History and description

An initiative of friends and admirers of the writer such as the Quintero brothers, José Francés, González Blanco and Emiliano Ramírez Ángel, in 1918 the project was entrusted to Victorio Macho, who had already carried out a study of the facial features of Galdós in the past.[1] The material costs were funded via popular subscription.[2]

The sculpture represents Galdós towards the end of his life, sitting on an armchair (with arms in the form of lions), with his legs covered by a blanket.[2][3]

The monument was unveiled during an emotive ceremony on 20 January 1919, attended by Galdós himself.[2] Tomás Borrás Bermejo, Emiliano Ramírez Ángel, Ramón Pérez de Ayala and Enrique de Mesa were among those in attendance.[4] An ageing Galdós (he would die less than a year later)—ill of uremia and nearly completely blind—felt the statue with his fingers and told Macho: "Magnificent, my friend Macho. And he looks so much like me!".[5]

The work brought fame to the then young Macho and boosted his incipient career.[6]

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References
Citations
  1. Mesa 2011, p. 647.
  2. Montero Padilla 2011, p. 72.
  3. Aparisi Laporta 2011, p. 30.
  4. Aparisi Laporta 2011, p. 31.
  5. Mesa 2011, p. 649.
  6. Sardá 2018.
Bibliography
  • Aparisi Laporta, Luis Miguel (2011). "Esculturas y otros elementos ornamentales en El Retiro". El Parque del Buen Retiro (PDF). Madrid: Instituto de Estudios Madrileños. pp. 15–49. ISBN 978-84-935195-4-4.
  • Mesa, Teo (2011). "Exposición de Victorio Macho en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Segunda muestra individual que realiza en su historial artístico. 22 de junio de 1921" (PDF). Anuario de Estudios Atlánticos. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Cabildo de Gran Canaria (57): 645–688. ISSN 0570-4065.
  • Montero Padilla, José (2011). "Apuntes para una guía literaria del Retiro". El Parque del Buen Retiro (PDF). Madrid: Instituto de Estudios Madrileños. pp. 67–81. ISBN 978-84-935195-4-4.
  • Sardá, Juan (18 August 2018). "El romano que domina la Gran Vía". La Vanguardia.
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