Monument to Doctor Domingo J. Navarro

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Art · Subcategory: Sculpture · Year: c. 1994 · Authors: Fátima Cabrera Rodríguez

Down one side of the Gabinete Literario stands this bust of Domingo J. Navarro, made by Fátima Cabrera, in which Eugenio Correa Rijo participated as smelter. The bronze sculpture is set on a high conical pedestal which makes the bust look smaller somewhat. This responds to a realist style, which features his characteristic beard. The absence of any accesorial detail intensifies his haughty look, reflecting the dignified manner of such a crucial figure in 19th century Las Palmas de Gran Canaria history.

Domingo José Navarro y Pastrana (1803-1896) was a journalist, doctor, writer and chronicler in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He was a founder member of the Gabinete Literario in 1844, and was one of its first presidents as succesor to Roberto Houghton. He is remembered for his brave work during the cholera epidemic in 1851. In 1852 he was named head doctor at the hospital of San Lázaro. In 1895 the Recuerdos de un noventón were published, a chronicle of the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria which was hugely successful, and today continues to be a fundamental piece of the city’s history.

«When all the wonderful transformation was advancing quickly in the city of Las Palmas, turning it into new and elegant European town, from what used to be sparse aglomeration of Moorish style houses. I understood that, in order to fully appreciate the merit of this present day progress, it was necessary to preserve the memory, no matter how slight and imperfect it may have been, of what our old city was actually like until well into this century, and the indolence, habits and customs of its dwellers, the main cause of its decadence.» (Recuerdos de un noventón: memories of what once was the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria at the turn of the century, and the uses and customs of its inhabitants, Domingo José Navarro)

 

 

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