Monument to Ambrosio Hurtado de Mendoza

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Art · Subcategory: Sculpture · Year: 1923 · Authors: Neri

Ambrosio Hurtado de Mendoza (1850-1922) was mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria between 1904 and 1909.

The author was an Italian by the surname of Neri, and we only know that he owned a workshop in Serravezza di Carrara, where he carved this work in 1923, using marble as his medium. Hurtado de Mendoza's face appears inserted into a medallion that has been chiselled out of an obelisk in true Egyptian tradition. As we know, this element had been made popular centuries before by Bernini, forming part of the commemorative monuments, and often acquiring this meaning on its own, as it is decorated with historial shapes, flags and victories. Apart from these shapes, the ornamentation on this monolith is limited to just one decorative strip in which plant and animal motifs are interlinked; the outer side displays the coat of arms of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

In front and to the right of the obelisk is a feminine figure, situated over a rugged rocky base, with one of her hands raised and pointing at the protagonist. In her, we see an allegory of the city, which, grateful for favours received, offers this monument. She is portrayed as an ancient Greek woman, with a long tunic wrapped around her waist, and a folded blanket which drops over her arm that leans on her hip. The blanket has a great profusion of folds, making it the most dynamic part of the piece, with a great light and shadow effect. Her hairstyle is similarly Attic in style: a wavy fringe covering her forehead and swept up at the neck. Her body is arched into two long curves and is reminiscent of the well known praxiteliana S.

The work hints at being more suitable for a funeral setting than an urban one, and is complemented by two side dispensers in the shape of mythological heads, pouring water out into a couple of cups. 

Its composition is classical and more akin to 20th century tastes than the date it was actually made, while is displays bases that are not in harmony with the rest of its elements. As it is carved from different blocks, there is a marked division between them, giving the impression of a puzzle made up of large pieces; especially unfortunate is the statue, which as we have said, simulates a mountain and is used as a resource so that it goes all the way up to Hurtado de Mendoza's face.

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