STATUE
It is the work of Mariano Benlliure and is located in a relevant place in the city, presiding over the beginning of Calle Larios .
History
Construction
On August 16, 1895, the Malaga City Council and its mayor, Ramón María Pérez de Torres, took note of the initiative launched by the journalist Nicolás Muñoz Cerissola, newspaper directors and various councilors, proposing the creation of the statue in homage to the second Marquis of Larios, constituting the commission in charge of analyzing the efforts and raising the funds through public subscription, which would decide between the proposals made by the sculptors Antonio Susillo , Agustín Querol , and the one that would finally be carried out, the sculptural project by the Valencian Mariano Benlliure .
On March 24, 1896, the relevant deed of obligation was signed by mutual agreement between both contracting parties with the following points:
The materials used in said work will be marble and bronze as indicated in the sketch... Four payment terms are established and as follows: The first, fifteen thousand pesetas upon signing this contract. The second installment of fifteen thousand pesetas when having modeled in clay the Statues of the II Marques of Larios and the group of the woman and the Child that represents "Charity". The third of twenty thousand pesetas, since the statues of Mr. Marques de Larios have already been cast and the four figures, festoons, shields and the statue of "Labor" have been modelled. The fourth and last term will be twenty-five thousand pesetas, delivered during the fifteen days after the inauguration of the monument. Mr. Benlliure undertakes to comply with all the obligations expressed in this contract...
AMM, Leg.1963, Exp.57
On January 1, 1899, at two in the afternoon, the inauguration of the monument took place, coinciding with the delivery to the Provincial Council of the building annexed to the Provincial Hospital built by philanthropic donation of the Larios family to the city.
Replacement of the statue of the Marquis by the statue of the Allegory of Labor
On April 14, 1931, with the proclamation of the Second Republic , serious incidents carried out by uncontrolled mobs were recorded in Malaga. The politician and businessman from Málaga José Aurelio Larios III Marqués de Larios, propitiated the monarchical coalition that was presented to the municipal elections of 1931 . He was the largest income taxpayer in the province and ran a powerful industrial group consisting of four sugar factories in Vélez Málaga, Torrox, Nerja and Motril. It also had a stake in Industria Malagueña and La Constanciaand other industries. Malaga was the second provincial capital with the most votes for Republican parties and the first councilor for the Communist Party. The exalted set fire to the workshops of La Unión Mercantil, an outbreak of fire was recorded in the seminary and residence of the Jesuits, and the warehouses and offices of the Compañía de Locomoción General del Muelle Heredia were set on fire, a fire that spread to the lumber warehouse Guille and Heredia. The uncontrolled demolished and damaged the sculpture of the Marquis de Larios, which was dragged through the streets of the city and finally thrown into the sea in the port . The tombstone of Marqués de Larios streetIt was demolished and, in its place, placed one with the name Calle 14 de Abril and a portrait of Fermín Galán . During the first hours of the day, a republican flag was raised, and later the bronze statue of the Allegory of Labor was placed , which was in the lower back of the monument, occupying the place of the businessman until 1951.
Restitution of the statue of the marquis
After the Spanish Civil War , the statue of the Marqués de Larios was recovered from the port dock where it had been dumped and relocated to its original situation, although some sources place the recovery in 1934. The sculpture was restored in the Benlliure workshops in Madrid and on May 18, 1951, it was placed again, presiding over the sculptural ensemble. Some of the original elements could not be recovered after the damage in 1931, such as the flowery garlands, the Málaga shield, and the four female figures that were in the corners, although one of these is currently preserved in the Municipal Heritage Museum. In the 1980s and 1990s, the sculptural ensemble was affected by the construction of the Plaza de la Marina car park, altering its perspective by raising the ensemble on a concrete camber that replaced the three original marble steps. The smoke outlet from the car park contributed to the tarnishing and deterioration of the complex.
Restoration and transfer of the sculptural ensemble
On May 8, 2019, the restoration work on the elements of the sculptural group was completed and it was moved to its current location according to the semi-pedestrianization project of the Alameda Principal. The monument is located presiding over the entrance to Calle Larios.
Formal analysis of the monument
It is a monument that forms a pyramid of glory at the top of which we find the sculptural figure of the honoree Manuel Domingo Larios y Larios. In front of it and on a lower floor, the representation of La Caridad appears , embodied in the offering figures of The Mother and The Child, and behind it is the Allegory of Work .
All this set on a cruciform plinth that ascends to the pedestal that springs from the center of the plant. This architectural ensemble of the basement turns the monument into a public altar due to the subordination of the secondary figures to the main character, forming a staggered composition.
When analyzing the statue of the Marquis de Larios himself, the elegance of the pose, serious and relaxed at the same time, is accentuated thanks to the coolness with which he holds the cane and the top hat in his right hand, and in the left hand that he puts it in his vest pocket; as if the aristocrat were simulating a leisurely walk, breaking with hieraticism and giving a sensation of movement.
Regarding the secondary figures, the allegories of La Caridad and Labor make a classicist imposition marked by a realistic imprint. The Mother lifts the Child up onto the pedestal, whose feminine forms accentuate the fabrics that cascade down from her waist and serve as a carpet for the place where the same figure rests her feet. As a contrast to the feminine sweetness of Charity, the allegory of Work embodies masculine strength. In the vein of Auguste Rodin , a young man with an athletic complexion appears in a marching pose, with a pick and mattock over his right shoulder and crowned with vine leaves alluding to the fruits of the earth. For the figure of the young man, the bullfighter Luis Mazzantini posed as a model .
In relation to the materials, Benlliure gave it a peculiar sense of decorum, reserving bronze for the male figures and white marble of Italian origin for the female figure and the child, or the so-called geniuses, which are four small allegories located on the corners of the plinth and which support ivy leaf garlands with the coat of arms of Malaga and the noble coat of arms of Los Larios.
On the plinth where the figure of the Marquis de Larios is located there are some epigraphic references:
On the front face of the pedestal:
Grateful to Don Manuel
Larios
II Marqués de Larios
Málaga
On the right side:
He was born in Malaga
on December XV
MDCCCXXXVI
On the left side:
Died on
July XXXI
MDCCCXCV
On the back of the pedestal:
Inauguration
I January MDCCCXCIX
Restoration
May 1951
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PERSON
"Manuel Domingo Larios y Larios ( Málaga , December 15 , 1836 - Paris , July 31 , 1895 ), senator of the Kingdom, businessman and Spanish aristocrat , II Marquis of Larios .
Biography
He was born in 1836 in the Spanish city of Malaga into a family belonging to the Illustrious Solar de Tejada whose male members are, in many cases, Hijosdalgo Diviseros. He was the son of Martín Larios y Herreros , 1st Marquis of Larios, and Margarita Larios y Martínez de Tejada, sister of Carlos Larios y Martínez de Tejada, 1st Marquis of Guadiaro . He is the second marquisate in succession to him, having consolidated his estate. Family history places him as an administrative figure of his assets and businesses. Manuel Domingo was born into one of the most influential families in Malaga's high society and trained as an industrial engineer at the École Centrale Paris . He developed the textile sector ( Industria Malagueña )and sugar in Malaga.
Along with his business activity, he began his political career as a deputy in Cortes in 1867, at the end of the reign of Isabel II . The Larios had a traumatic experience when a series of workers who worked in the marquis' factories surrounded the family palace, where the La Equitativa building is now located , during the La Gloriosa revolution in 1868. The family had to flee across the roof and decided to leave Spain, placing his residence in Paris. Despite being far from their land, the family was in contact with their businesses until the title of marquis fell to relatives residing in Malaga. His father only returned to the province of Malaga to visit his interests in the sugar industryin Torre del Mar , without going through the capital. A number of company workers apologized for the events that occurred years ago and, despite his acceptance, the marquis continued to live in France until his death.
When his father died in 1873, he became managing partner of the Hijos de Martín Larios society, together with his brother Martín and his cousin Enrique Crooke Larios. He maintained relations with investors Heredia and Loring , his regular partners. With the Bourbon restoration and with the influence of Cánovas del Castillo, he once again obtained deputy certificates for the province of Málaga, as did his brother Martín Larios y Larios. In 1887 he financially supported the opening of Marqués de Larios street to connect the historic center with the port of Malaga. This street is the symbol of Malaga's urbanism in the 19th century., designed by Eduardo Strachan and was finally completed in 1891. At the end of the street, in the Alameda and in front of where his residence was located (up to the building of La Equitativa), is the Monument to the Marqués de Larios (1899 ) . . In 1888, together with his mother, he took legal action to incapacitate his brother Martín Larios for a case of insanity, which resulted in Manuel's death, the title of marquis falling to his nephew José Aurelio. Larios and Larios. He held the position of senator for life in 1893 until his death in 1895 in Paris , without issue. He is buried in the San Miguel Cemetery , in Malaga"
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