Statues - Hither & Thither

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Barcelona
Barcelona (prov.)

Plaça d'Antonio López

Antonio López y López

primer marquès de Comillas
Comillas, Cantàbria 1817 - Barcelona 1883
merchant and ship owner
(Wikipedia)

Venanci Vallmitjana & Frederic Marés
1884

Description

Stone statue. On the four sides of the pedestal marble reliefs representing the four companies founded by López, made by four different sculptors, above these reliefs four coats of arms, below them texts:

Front:

Coat of arms of Barcelona
Relief representing the Banco de Crédito Mercantil and the Banco Hispano Colonial: woman with a caduceus and a man with a book; by Lluís Puiggener (signed l. puiggener).

Texts:

A LOPEZ Y LOPEZ

"EXIM. SR. D. ANTONI LOPEZ
Muntat de tos navilis en l'ala beneïda busqui
de les Hespèrides lo taronger en flor
més ay! ès ja despulles
de l'ona que ha tans segles se n'es ensenyorida
i sols puch oferirte, si't plauen exes fulles
de l'arbre del fruit d'or
Jacinto Verdaguer, Pre. -
Vapor trasatlantic "ciudad condal"
18 Novembre 1.876"

Right:
- Coat of arms of Comillas (the emblem of the conquest of Seville by Cantabrian marines in 1248, with the tower - representing the Torre del Oro - and the ship breaking the chains that blocked the way through the river Guadalquivir. It symbolizes the eight centuries of activity that characterised the maritime Cantabria)
- Relief representing Ferrocarrils del Nord (Northern railways): two women on wheels carrying the coats of arms of Castilla y Leon and France (shield with a rooster); by Joan Roig Solé (signed Jⁿ R^g).
- Text:
  
  gran naviero, senador vitalicio
  y primer marques de comillas
Back:
- Coat of arms (top St. Mary and bottom St. James the Greater)
- Relief representing the Compañía Transatlántica Española: woman with a guirlande inscribed lopez and a child with the coat of arms of Barcelona; by Rossend Nobas (signed R. Nobas).
- Text:
  
  ...espana ha perdido uno de los hombres
  que mas grandes servicios le han pres.
  tado. telegrama de S.M. el rey d. alfonso xii.
Left:
- Coat of arms of the city of Manila (left castle, right griffon with sword)
- Relief representing the Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas: woman with coat of arms and child with a palm branch; by Francesc Pagès Serratosa (signed F. Pagès Serratosa).
- Text:
  
  * xii abril † xvi enero
  mdcccxvii mdccclxxxiii.

Front

Right

Back

Left

Annotation

During the Civil War of 1936-39 the original bronze statue was destroyed. The present statue is a copy made in 1944 by Frederic Marès after the original model.

Sculptors

Frederic Marès i Deulovol (Portbou 1893 - Barcelona 1991), Catalan sculptor (Wikipedia).
Venanci Vallmitjana i Barbany (Barcelona 1826 - Barcelona 1919), Catalan sculptor (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Pobles de Catalunya, Barcelonès.
Wikipedia, A López y López.

Locatie (N 41°22'54" - E 2°10'55") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: escy035; Photograph: 5 September 2011
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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