Home | Artigas, José Gervasio
- CountryUruguay
- Town:Minas
-
Year of creation:1974
- Rider(s):Artigas, José Gervasio
(1764–1850), the most important patriot leader in Uruguay’s wars of independence, is a national hero, sometimes called the ‘father of Uruguayan nationhood’. José Artigas is to Uruguay what San Martin is to Argentina or Bernardo O’Higgins is to Chile. Artigas was an important figure in the context of Hispanic American revolutions, mainly because he was ahead of his time in terms of policy and society. His monument, with an impressive and well-restored equestrian statue by Zanelli, stands on top of his mausoleum. It is the only equestrian that I know with its own brochure in English, available free to the public, with details about the monument, the statue and its restoration.
- Sculptor(s):Belloni, Stelio
(1920 – 1989), son of the sculptor José Belloni, was an Uruguayan sculptor.
-
Jose Artigas is known as ‘the George Washington of Uruguay’. To reflect that status, the Uruguayans built a massive equestrian monument in Minas. Before the construction of the huge Genghis Khan in Mongolia, Artigas’ statue was – at 18 metres in height and 9 in length – the largest equestrian sculpture in the world. Despite its huge size and the material used (reinforced concrete), this statue has a surprising visual lightness.
