CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 1

Invitation to linger

The other inhabitants of the city. Cast in iron, bronze, granite, concrete, or marble, their expressions question us from the most unexpected corners of San Sebastian. They are the expres- sions of creatures from long ago that claim a place in our memories, or the creations of artists that express our contemporary anxieties.

Although at times we may look at them without really seeing them, as if they were but urban fixtures, their distinctive features fill our public spa- ces with meaning. They are the inha- bitants of our collective references.

Either well-known or yet to be disco- vered, obvious or enigmatic, atten- tion-grabbing or discreet, each one of the 56 outdoor surveyed in this guide, offers an opportunity to let our imaginations soar, an invitation to stop and observe the environment around us, San Sebastian, and to take another look. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 2

1 The Wind Comb Eduardo Chillida 1924-2002

Location: Eduardo Chillida promenade (2-B) | Date: 1977 Eduardo Chillida, one of the foremost figu- His imprint res of the Basque and European artistic avant-garde of the 20 th century, was born One could often see Chillida th This fascinating place, open on to the ocean in San Sebastian on the 10 of August strolling on the beach of La at the far end of the bay, is a result of the co- 1924. After spending the harshest years of Concha, or Ondarreta… operation between Eduardo Chillida and the the civil war in Paris, he returned to begin And one may still see him th- San Sebastian-born Architect Luis Peña Gan- his architectural studies in . rough the sculptures that chegui, a partnership that has borne more But very soon he found a third and final than one spectacular creation. Here the archi- mark this route. However, path, art. After marrying Pilar Belzunce in tect perfectly integrated a series of plat- one can really feel Chillida´s 1950, Chillida gained an inexorable vigour. forms, steps and areas of pink granite into the creative strength at Chillida- He began his greatest work - his family of abrupt landscape, culminating in the three Leku, -more than just a mu- eight children - as well as his first individual massive solid iron sculptures, weighing over seum - located on the outs- shows, his first awards, and his own great ten tonnes, with which Chillida set out to comb kirts of San Sebastian. contributions to art. Thereafter, this kind the North-eastern winds. The sculptor dona- man of vast intellectual capacity dedicated ted this work to his native city. He had been over half a century to artistic working on the idea for years until he was able creation and to his desire for to produce it in the seventies, sponsored by freedom, peace and toleran- the San Sebastian City Council. Nature and ce, for which he spared no the human imprint coexist in extraordinary effort or commitment. intimacy, in what is probably the most magi- cal place in San Sebastian, very near the house in which the sculptor lived since 1982. A place where the wind caresses iron, and the ocean, through the perforated pavement, breaks its way up through stone. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 4

2 Zeharki 4 Effigy of Catalina de Erauso José Ramón Anda Mikel

Location: Ondarreta gardens (2-D) Location: Miramar gardens (3-D) | Date: 1993 Date: 1983

A bust dedicated to an unconventional woman, set in the gardens of the residence The work of the Navarra-born sculptor José of a great lady: the effigy of Catalina de Ramón Anda (Bakaikoa, 1949) - three large Erauso (1592-1650) stands in the gardens scale concrete irregular cylinders that form a of Miramar Palace, the summer residence of sort of contemporary menhir, won the first Queen María Cristina. Catalina was the San Sebastian Biennale award for youngest woman to reach the promontory in the beginning of the eighties. The three pie- Military Nun that divides the two beaches La Concha and ces form an inner space that invites the spec- From Sanlúcar de Barrame- Ondarreta, since she entered the Dominican tator to observe the work from within. Zehar- da to America, from being convent there at the age of 4. Yet her ki continues to offer an element of transcen- Catalina to being named restless character was not suited to the dence, free from ornamentation, to it is set- Pedro, Francisco, Alonso or calm, disciplined life of a convent and, when ting of elaborate gardens in which, on beach any other number of mascu- she turned 15, she fled to the Americas, days, bustling activity is predominant. line aliases, she fought like a disguised as a man, where she spent the rest man until she revealed her of her life. feminine identity in 1623. It is said that she was authori- sed to wear masculine attire by the Pope himself.

3 Monument to Queen 5 Tribute to the Basque Maria Cristina Pelota Player José Díaz Bueno José Alberdi

Location: Gorgatxo square (3-E) | Date: 1990 Location: Ondarreta gardens (2-D) Date: 1942

The Pico del Loro –name without ornithologi- cal connotations, but a simple degeneration of the Basque place name Loretope– not only San Sebastian affectionately remembers divides the two beaches, but also acts as a Queen Maria Cristina of Hapsburg-Lorraine, natural border between the city centre and since it was she who, in 1887, decided to its original enclave, El Antiguo Quarter. This move the royal courts’ summer retreat to hollow bronze sculpture of over 4 meters in this city. The change provided extraordinary height stands on a stone pedestal, located in momentum to the city, generating urban the very heart of this neighbourhood of development beyond the old city walls. This remarkable personality and character, next sculpture by the Madrid-born José Díaz to the pelota court and the parish church of Bueno, installed in the Ondarreta Gardens in Saint Sebastian Mártir. It was commissioned 1942, is just one of San Sebastian’s many by the San Sebastian City Council to the sculp- signs of gratitude to the Queen, wife of tor Joxe Alberdi (, 1922) as a tribute Alfonso XII and Queen Regent after his to players. death in 1902. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 6

8 Monument to Fleming Eduardo Chillida

Location: La Concha promenade (3-D) | Date: 1955

After Chillida’s most precious gift to the city –the Wind Comb– and the embrace to his belo- ved friend, one may see the Monument to Fleming dominating La Concha. During the 1950’s, Chillida dedicated several works to great men whom he admired, such as the French painter Georges Braque, the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli or the bacteriolo- In the ditch gist Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin. Before its final relocation to 6 Chillida created the original of this work in Monument to Pío Baroja its current extraordinary 1955. In 1991, as a commission by the City Council of San Sebastian, the architect setting, this Chillida’s work Location: Pío Baroja promenade (3-E) | Date: 1972 Joaquín Montero, closely bound to Chillida, de- had a really eventful life. signed the terrace group that, in the Paseo de The author created it for La Concha, shelter the group of pieces sculp- being placed in the Atego- ted in granite and their pedestal. rrieta Gardens; later it made As the aforementioned work by José Ramón One of the big its way to Mount Urgull, Anda, this sculpture, created by Nestor ones spent some time at the city’s Basterretxea (, 1924) as a tribute to hospital area, was thought Pio Baroja, was awarded the San Sebastian Once Oteiza, Chillida, Men- to be lost, and, finally, it Biennale for Sculpture in the early seven- diburu and Amable Arias have disappeared, Nestor appeared in a ditch of the ties. This horizontal block in grey sheet me- Basterretxea is, together Martutene Quarter, several tal, over six metres of length, was placed at with the painters Sistiaga the Plaza de la Trinidad, a setting which the years later. It was found near and Zumeta, the living the workshop where Chilli- artist did not like, so it was moved to its cu- memory of the Gaur Group, da had taken the piece to be rrent location. which renewed Basque art restored. In 1991, at last, it some decades ago. Nevert- heless, Basterretxea does found its rightful place. not look to the past and, a hundred per cent fit, is now at a high activity stage. 9 Amanaria 7 Stele for Rafael Gotzon Huegun Location: Rear terrace of Miramar Palace (3-E) Ruiz Balerdi Date: 2004 Eduardo Chillida Location: Pico del Loro (3-D) | Date: 1991 The lounges of what once was the Royal Pala- ce house events, exhibitions, and encounters of all kind. In September 2004, the Contem- porary Art Fair of San Sebastian was held Besarkada (The Embrace) is both the title and the there; but this plastic artists’ meeting had no soul of the iron stela that Eduardo Chillida created continuation. During that fair, a sculpture was as a tribute to his friend Rafael Ruiz Balerdi, installed in the rear terrace of the Miramar painter born in San Sebastian in 1934 and dead in Palace. Amanaria, this feminine and motherly 1992. This work, dating from 1991 and measuring sculpture, made in black marble from Marki- less than one metre in height, is located in the Pico na and created by Gotzon Huegun Burgos, fit del Loro and was donated by Eduardo Chillida to so well in that place that it stayed there. his city after the artist’s retrospective show at the nearby Miramar Palace. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 8

10 Tribute to Antxon 12 Oroimena - Memory Ayestaran Aitor Mendizabal Koldo Merino / Bernard Baschet Location: Alderdi-Eder Gardens (6-C) | Date: 2007

Location: Zaragoza square (6-D) Date: 1988 “The city of San Sebastián, as a tribute to the victims of terrorism and violence.” These words can be read in Basque and Spanish at the foot of the sculpture inau- gurated on January 30, 2007, coinciding with the anniversary of the assassina- tion of Gandhi and with the World Peace Day. Direct victims and relatives of the victims of terrorism witnessed the unveiling of this monument that, on the initia- Antxon Ayestarán was the director of one tive of the City’s Victim Forum and the San Sebastian City Council, paid off an of San Sebastian’s most emblematic outstanding debt. Located in the central Alderdi-Eder gardens, the monument, institutions, the Orfeon Donostiarra (the devoted to all people affected by terrorism, is made in bronze and copper. The Choral Society of San Sebastian) from prism monolith has four metres high and 1,500 kilos of weight. 1968 until his death in 1986. This sculpture is a tribute to the memory of a man very dear to the city and consists –as befits its subject – in a set of sonorous pieces inaugurated in 1988. It is made up of a double concrete column by the sculptor Koldo Merino into which we find La Voz (The Voice), a work in stainless steel by the French Bernard Baschet

Wounds The creator himself, Aitor 11 Mendizabal, has explained Don Quixote and Sancho Panza that the surface cracks that are visible in the monolith Lorenzo Coullaut - Valera symbolise the wounds suf- fered by the Basque society due to violence. The sugges- Location: Alderdi-Eder gardens (6-C) Since 1973, the small figures tion of a chopped tree Date: 1973 of Don Quixote and Sancho expresses “the halt life suf- Panza ride in one of the cor- fers after a murder,” as Men- ners of the Alderdi-Eder dizabal says. The sculptor Gardens. They were created was born in Caracas and has by the Sevillian sculptor another important public Lorenzo Coullaut-Valera sculpture in San Sebastian, (1876-1932) several decades before. Although some people called ‘Ateak – Doors,’ loca- think this sculpture is a small- ted in the Plaza de . sized copy of the famous figu- res the author created for the Plaza de España in Madrid, it is actually just the opposite. That is, the pair in Madrid would be the copy and the ones in San Sebastian are the original, strictly speaking. In order to make the Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in Madrid, Coullaut-Valera created a pro- totype, a first sculpture; the one that we can see now near La Concha. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 10

Jorge Oteiza 1908-2003

Poet, sculptor, filmmaker, essayist, agitator of ideas, imaginer of futures... Words and dates are useless to define Oteiza. We can say that he was born in Orio in 1908, that he was an easily frightened boy and a young man that had to take care of his family, that he was interested in architecture, but enrolled in medicine, that nearing his thirties he tended towards art, that he lived in Madrid, and that he moved to South America in 1935, married Itziar Carreño –his guide on Earth–, and that he came back to the Basque Country in 1948. We can also remember that he was already wholly dedicated to sculpture, but he decided to abandon it in 1960, after determining that contemporary 13 Empty Construction art had come to an end. Nevertheless, he broke his promise and came back, he continued imagining and suggesting a thousand new ways for art and life. He Location: Paseo Nuevo promenade (4-B) | Date: 2002 angered some, was loved by many and admired by almost all. Then Itziar passed on, he grew old, became a legend; he left his work and thought, his unique and original look, and he died in spring. But, by then, he was already immortal. Although Jorge Oteiza’s Construcción Vacía was installed in the Paseo Nuevo of San Sebastian in October 2002, the work is a monumental-scale reproduction of a piece Brotherhood included in the series of eleven sculptures the artist made in 1957. That same year, Jorge Oteiza and Eduardo this series was the winner of the 4th Chillida remained far from Biennial of Sao Paulo (Brazil).The each other for many years, composition consists in two steel pieces until 1997, when they sealed weighing 12.5 and 10.5 tons each, and is their reconciliation with a installed on a wood-covered concrete famous embrace. After that platform. From the beginning of the 90s, symbolic but ephemeral Oteiza took up again his relationship with embrace, La Concha Bay has San Sebastian, damaged due to different joined them forever. A bay circumstances in the preceding years, and that has the privilege of the city considered several options to combing the wind on one palliate his unconceivable absence from the end, with Eduardo Chillida, landscape of San Sebastian. Finally, the and of opening a window to artist himself chose this location, turning his the sea on the other, with Construcción Vacía into the gateway Jorge Oteiza. opening San Sebastian to the sea. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 12

14 Cemetery of the Englishmen

Location: Mount Urgull (4-A) | Date: 1924

Mount Urgull, now a park, can hardly manage to get rid of its military past, shown in the many batteries, walls, and army constructions that evoke its important strategic function. These strong and solid architectural remains have no adornments, in contrast to the romantic, almost bewitching spirit of the Cemetery of the Englishmen. Quite dilapidated with the passing of time, with the instability of the mountain slopes, this enclosure, under the shadow of a commemorative plaque, is the resting place of English officials of the Condor Legion who died mainly in the battles fought around the city especially the Battle of Oriamendi (1837) between Hernani and . Also buried here are English 15 men who died in other battles. Monument to the Sacred Heart Federico Coullaut - Valera Solemn inauguration Location: Mount Urgull (5-A) | Date: 1950 Thanks to a recently resto- red old film, we know that the inauguration of the Cemetery of the English- There is no doubt that the Sacred Heart men, in 1924, was very crowning Mount Urgull is a monument that solemn. While the English does not go unnoticed in San Sebastian, Warship Malcolm was since it is visible from almost all parts of the anchored in the bay, Queens city area.. All the civil, military, and church Huge María Cristina and Victoria authorities gathered on November 19, The monument to the Sacred Eugenia presided over the 1950, to duly open the monument, which Heart is a work by the sculp- ceremony, as well as Prince started to be conceived in 1926, although tor Federico Collaut- Valera Jaime, several ambassadors, the Town Council did not commit to promote (Madrid, 1912-1989) and it is and the local authorities. it until 1938. The bishop had the possibility remarkable for its dimen- After moving away a flag to choose the location of a monument that sions. If we sum up the from San Sebastian, the was partly paid by public subscription, and the prelate chose the most spectacular of heights of the base, the cha- commemorative plaque all: the Castle of pel, and the figure, the total was unveiled. It was written La Mota on Mount height is near 29 metres. The in Spanish and English and Urgull. head is 1.76 metres high and was dedicated to “the the hands 1.40 metres. On its memory of the brave British part, the figure is more than soldiers who died for the four metres wide. People say glory of their country and that the back is still visible for the independence and four miles out to sea. freedom of .” CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 14

16 Bust of the writer 18 Torso Eduardo Chillida

José Mª Salaverría Location: Mount Urgull (5-A) | Date: 1963 José Díaz Bueno

Location: Alderdi Eder gardens (6-C) | Date: 1973

Eduardo Chillida created this bare torso as a tribute to Pedro Arana Aizpurua (1922- 1961), city councillor and active promoter of children’s tamborradas (drum festival) in Another of the sculptural interventions made San Sebastian. Donated by Chillida to the in the Alderdi Eder gardens at the beginning city and inaugurated in 1963, the work is of the 70s was the installation of a small white based on a 1948 plaster cast, and it is one of cement bust created by the sculptor José the few bronzes written by Chillida, since we Díaz Bueno, from Madrid. This way, the Town can see his signature on the right leg. Due to Council made a tribute to the writer José its small dimensions, it can go unnoticed in María Salaverria (San Sebastian, 1873- such a wide space as Mount Urgull, but it is 1940), a shrewd observer of his hometown’s worthwhile to note its extreme delicateness. customs, spots, and landscapes, who started his career in different newspapers in San Sebastian and finished it in Madrid.

19 17 Monument to Bust of Jacinto Matheu Ignacio Zuloaga Julio Beobide Location: Pier (5-B) | Date: 1901 Location: Zuloaga square (6-A) | Date: 1938

The bust, within a niche in the heart of the fishing port –originally created by the The bust of Ignacio Zuloaga ( 1870- Catalonian Jacinto Matheu in 1901– does Madrid 1945), the most important Basque not evoke an artist, or a politician, or an painter of the late 19th and early 20th cen- intellectual figure, but a simple fisherman, turies, dominates the square named after the valiant José María Zubía Mari, born in him. The San Telmo , where we can Neighbours in 1809. He took part in many admire of his works, is also located in this Zuloaga and Beobide, with rescues until he himself died in 1866, while square. This small bust was created by one Aita Mari an age difference of twenty trying to rescue the crew of a small boat of the painter’s close friends, the sculptor The appellative aita (father years, collaborated closely trapped in a storm in La Concha Bay. This Julio Beobide (Zumaia, e1891-1969) in in Basque), given to José on several occasions and bust, in which Mari still watches the bay, is a 1938, at the dawn of his career, since he María Zubía, has nothing to they settled their studios replica of the original work, which was had his first individual exhibition only two do with any religious dedi- –now turned into two damaged by the passing of time. years before. cation, but with the trust the – near of each fishermen placed in him other, in a beautiful setting before venturing to sea. near the Beach of Santiago, in Zumaia. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 16

20 Beste aldean 22 La Pieta Eduardo Chillida Belzunce Jorge Oteiza y José Ramón Anda

Location: Zuloaga square (6-A) | Date: 2004 Location: Church of San Vicente (6-B) | Date: 1999

The long restoration process of the last block of flats of the 31 de Agosto Street, which overlook the Plaza de Zuloaga, allowed the façade finishing with a singular vertical mural of nine metres of height. The terracotta piece set, in grey and ochre, represents an interior and a window through which we can see La Concha Bay. In words of his creator, Eduardo Chillida Belzunce, “it is the view the neighbours would have if there was a straight tunnel towards the Aquarium.” What is ‘On the other side’ (‘Beste aldean’), of course.

Terracotta The 61 terracotta plates making up the mural were made through a thorough craft process. After the sculptor Ramón Ruiz Cabestany prepared the material, Chillida Belzunce painted each piece, which was baked in the sculptor’s workshop, in . The heat caused changes in the colours, so many repetitions and finishing touches were needed. The protest For The Pieta conceived by Oteiza it is hard to assume her son’s death with resig- nation. This Pieta is a bro- Jorge Oteiza’s health was beginning to get ken mother who rebels, pro- worse when, in 1999, his Pieta was installed tests, and cries out her pain. 21 on the façade of the recently restored Stele “What mother would not Agustín Ibarrola Church of San Vicente, one of the most do the same?” exclaimed beautiful churches in San Sebastian. It was, Oteiza when, in September by the way, the first work by Oteiza in the Location: Port (5-B) | Date: 1988 1999, he attended the sculp- of . Nevertheless, the ture inauguration. artist himself chose the location –on the An almost round gap, like an eye main façade, but near the side door painted in blue, breaks a rectangular overlooking the San Vicente Street-, and, cement block. The monolith created by with a cigar in his hand, he directed the Agustín Ibarrola may look familiar to installation with his usual vigour. The basis the traveller. In 1988, the Basque of the sculpture, a bit more than one and a Government commissioned him a series half metres high, was of the 27 sketches of twelve identical works to decorate that Oteiza created for the frieze of the the ports in Gipuzkoa and . The Sanctuary of between 1953 and monolith of San Sebastian’s Quay is one 1969. The sculptor José Ramón Anda, of those twelve ‘eyes’ that seem to scan friend of Oteiza, was in charge of shaping the . the artist’s initial model in aluminium, having at all times the support and collaboration of the great creator from Orio. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 18

24 23 Tribute to Sarriegui Bust of José María Nino Barriuso Usandizaga Josep Llimona Location: Sarriegi square (6-B) | Date: 1894 Location: Gipuzkoa square(6-B) Date: 1916

One of the most romantic elements of the Plaza de Gipuzkoa is the monu- ment to the musician José María Usandizaga (San Sebastian, 1887-1915), a precocious whose early death did not keep him from creating unforgetta- If anyone can be credited for San ble works, like the opera Mendi Mendiyan or the zarzuela Las Golondrinas. Sebastian’s soundtrack, there is no doubt Scarcely in a year, the city spared no effort to remember the musician and that this figure is the musician Raimundo commissioned a sculpture in his honour to Josep Llimona (1864-1934), the Sarriegui –who was born in the Echeverri greatest Catalonian modernist sculptor who, already at that time, was re- Farmhouse, Egia, in1938 and died in 1913–, ally famous. since his music is playing in almost all the popular festivities of San Sebastian, leading by the famous Marcha de San Sebastian and the rest of pieces included in the famous tamborrada (drum festival). Untiring entertainer of his neighbourhood’s streets, a merchant by profession, and The likeness musician by vocation, he composed tens of pieces that almost everybody in San What was Sarriegui like? Sebastian can hum. The first tribute to Judging by the only picture Sarriegui after his death –it happened when his descendants kept, he did The concert not look like the curly-hai- he visit the chemist’ to say hi to his friend The fundraising to pay for the red and bulging-eyed man the chemist- was the cancellation of the sculpture were obtained in a represented in the first following year’s Tamborrada, and, later, the concert offered by the Orfeon sculpture. The new bust, in city dedicated him a square and a bust, a Donostiarra. The Town Coun- which he seems to be liste- work by José Lopetegi, who also created cil, on its part, collaborated in ning in, looks much more the tamborrero (drummer) that has the sculptural tribute by like him… accompanied Sarriegui in that square for paying the work transport. decades. Both figures were made in cement and were located opposite the new sculptural work. The latest was commissioned to the sculptor and professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of the Basque Country Nino Barriuso, on the occasion of the square’s remodelling. The sculptures, installed on San Sebastian’s Day in 2002, are cast in bronze and bigger than the former ones –the tamborrero, for example, is two metres high–. This fact gives the work a monumental character that the former tribute to Sarriegui did not have. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 20

25 Busts of the 26 Bust of Father Provincial Donostia Palace façade José María de Vera Marcial Aguirre Location: República Argentina promenade (7-B) Date: 1974 Location: Gipuzkoa square (6-C) Date: 1885

In a landscaped area of the Paseo de la Repú- blica Argentina, near the María Cristina Hotel and looking out onto the River, there The Plaza de Gipuzkoa houses the Provincial is a small bronze by José María de Vera ins- Place, the seat of the Provincial Council of talled in the 80s. It commemorates José Gon- Gipuzkoa. This square is an essential element Aita Donostia zalo Zulaika (1886- 1956), a Capuchin monk of the first enlargement that allowed the city who, following the customs of his order, beca- to start growing harmoniously at the end of Father Donostia, one of the me Father José Antonio of Donostia (San the 19th century. In this arcaded square, big figures in 20th century Sebastian) when he joined it in 1908. He star- reminiscent of the “plazas mayores” or main , not only com- ted composing when he was a teacher in Leka- squares (so common in numerous Spanish posed a large body of work, rotz, and, from 1918 until his death, he did cities and towns), we should stand out the but also travelled throug- not stop composing religious chants, Basque classical style palace, a work by the architect hout the Basque Country dances, pieces for piano… Goikoa inaugurated in 1885. Level with the recovering the highly rich first floor of the main façade, the busts of five musical heritage, as a musi- illustrious men from Gipuzkoa are incrusted cologist and researcher. shaping a frieze. These busts were created by the sculptor Marcial Aguirre, from . On the top, a big coat of arms of Gipuzkoa crowns the work. 27 Bust of Pío Baroja Illustrious men from Victorio Macho Gipuzkoa

The effigies are dedicated to five of the most Location: Oquendo square (6-B) universal men from Gipuzkoa in history. In the Date: 1972 16th century, Juan Sebastian Elcano, from Getaria, circumnavigated the globe for the first time, and, in that same century, Miguel de Legazpi, born in Zumarraga, conquered the Nobody would describe this work in a bet- Philippines for the King of Spain and founded ter way than Pio Baroja himself, with the the city of Manila. Andrés de Urdaneta, born words he used to unveil it in 1935: “If my in in 1508, was as soldier and a sea- memory is lost and the bust remains in its man before becoming a friar, and his sea skills place, I would be satisfied if people obser- Centenary helped him to evangelize the Philippines. The ving it in the future know that the model of seaman from , Blas de Lezo, who star- this statue was a man with passion for The bronze bust of Pio Baro- ted as a cadet and ended up as an Army Gene- truth, hate for hypocrisy and lie, and, despi- ja (San Sebastian, 1872- ral, was one of the most outstanding military te the opposite having been said of him du- Madrid, 1956), a work by figures in the 17th century, like Antonio de ring his lifetime, a Basque man who deeply Victorio Macho, is a copy Oquendo, born in San Sebastian. Both offered loved his country.” of the original sculpture highly important war successes to the Spanish –belonging to the San Telmo Royal Navy. Museum’s collection–, crea- ted for the centenary of his death in 1972. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 22

28 Antonio de Oquendo 29 Effigy of the composer Marcial Aguirre Tomás Garbizu Iñigo Echeberria Location: Oquendo square (7-B) | Date: 1894

Location: Oquendo square (7-B) | Date: 1992

This tribute to Antonio de Oquendo (San Sebastian, 1575-La Coruña, 1640), located at the Plaza de Oquendo, was commissioned Iñigo Echeberria created this bust in bronze in 1878 by the San Sebastian City Council to as a tribute to the musician Tomás Garbizu the sculptor Marcial Aguirre, from Bergara. (Lezo, 1901-1989) in 1992. The work was He was the author of the effigies dedicated commissioned by the Gipuzkoa Provincial to the illustrious men from Gipuzkoa decora- Council, thus honouring one of the most ting the façade of the Provincial Palace. For outstanding figures of 20th century Basque three years, the author had to struggle with music. Although his professional life was lin- ked to the organ – for many years he was an the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San organ player at the Embassy of in Fernando, which did not give its approval to Madrid and, from 1954, he was a Professor the work due to minor details: Aguirre’s of this instrument at the San Sebastian And films... Oquendo was very young for them, they Conservatoire–, this solidly trained musician doubted about the historical rigour of his The most outstanding com- was a prolific composer who tackled many breastplate… The budget difficulties we- positions by Tomas Garbi- genres, offering unforgettable concerts and re added to these facts, but the statue zu may be religious pieces, awarded important prizes. Part of his work was finally inaugurated on but he did not disdained is still unknown. September 12th 1894, on the popular music at all. anniversary of one of During the 40s and 50s, he Oquendo’s impor- even composed music for tant victory of different films. over the Dutch.

The character 30 Bust of Son of the distinguished sea- Secundino Esnaola man Don Miguel de Oquen- Julio Beobide do, with an outstanding role in the Invencible, Antonio de Location: Reina Regente (6-B) Oquendo joined the Spanish Date: 1954 War Fleet when he was 17 and he soon showed himself as an excellent officer. He served King Philippe III and his heir The Revolutionary It is necessary to seek for this bust created King Philippe IV and Oquen- Besides his many human and donated to the city by Julio Beobide, and do’s career –developed in the and artistic merits, enjoy the Zumaia sculptor’s mastery in this New World to a great extent- Secundino Esnaola was was marked out by great vic- kind of works. It is located in the central gar- “brave” enough to create a den of Reina Regente. In this small island, tories, but also of dark episo- mixed choir in 1908, the des that took him away from Gipuzkoa pays a tribute to Secundino Esnao- previous step to the revolu- la (Zumarraga, 1878-San Sebastian 1929), his position in different occa- tionary introduction of composer of countless songs that have incre- sions and that even brought women in the Orfeon ased the Basque popular songbook and him to jail. Nevertheless, he Donostiarra. remembered in San Sebastian for having con- retired with full honours and ducted the Orfeon Donostiarra from 1902 free from all suspicion. until his death, 1929. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 24

Iztueta 32 Song for Iztueta The choreographer José Nestor Basterretxea Ignacio Iztueta (1767- 1845) not only played an Location: Euskadi square (7-B) essential role in recovering Date: 1971 and revaluing of Basque popular dances, he also wrote an extensive history of Gipuzkoa.

A tribute to the choreographer José Ignacio Iztueta, this sculpture by Nestor Basterretxea seems to have materialised in the air the wake of a pirouette made by the most daring dancer. This sheet work’s main characteristic is the simultaneous feeling of weightlessness and movement, with which the artist successfully faced a delicate material that he forced and folded until he obtained the desired result. Despite its fragile look, the iron sheet painted in cream has shown a great strength, supporting in the air an imaginary dantzari (Basque dancer) for more than three decades. 31 Herri Otza Imagined, maybe, by Iztueta himself... Remigio Mendiburu

Location: La Libertad avenue, 1 (7-C) Date: 1975 For example...

Not far from this placer, at the Hall (Garibay Centre), we can enjoy a clear 33 Although on most occasions the institutions example of what Mendibu- The Cross of Peace place the sculptures in the streets, the work ru was capable of doing Eduardo Chillida climbing to the façade of the building at the with wood. Between 1976 Location: Buen Pastor cathedral (6-D) | Date: 1997 beginning of the main city street was and 1977, he created two commissioned to the sculptor Remigio mural pieces and a rich cof- Mendiburu (, 1931-1990) by the fered ceiling with a strong In 1997, the Cathedral of El Buen Pastor cele- building’s promoter, emphasizing the work’s organic character, commis- brated its centenary and Eduardo Chillida innovative character in a essentially sioned by that entity. made it a splendid gift: 800 kilos of alabaster classical setting and amazing the citizens of from which the artist extracted a cross –Bake- that time. More than twelve hollow stainless aren Gurutzea or the Cross of Peace– outs- steel tubes shaped by blowlamp heat, tanding, among other things, because the aut- between twelve and fifteen metres, entwine hor kept the original texture of the stone. windingly as if they were twisted trunks or Since then, and in stark contrast to the Neo- giant roots. In Mendiburu’s hands, steel Gothic recreation built in the style of the late approached the nature and essence of 19th century San Sebastian, this austere wood, the material on which he worked in piece, with the strength of the essential, pre- more occasions. sides the central portico’s tympanum of the cathedral. This temple also preserves anot- her two crosses by the author. Moreover, the Basilica of Santa María houses another cross by Chillida, near the baptismal font. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 26

34 Monument to 36 Trikitilaris Queen Maria Cristina Tomás Hernández Mendizábal Location: Etxeberri square (7-G) José Luis Díaz Bueno | León Barrenechea Date: 1991

Location: Amara park (7-E) | Date: 1919 The Plaza de Los Etxeberri, in Amara Berri, suffers a colour shock, and we almost say that a music shock, thanks to ‘Trikitilaris’. Two stylized human figures, one with a tambourine and the other with a trikitixa or Basque diatonic accordion, evoke the liveliest sounds of Basque folklore. Tomás Conceived by the Madrid-born ar- Hernández Mendizábal, who made this work commissioned by the San tist José Luis Díaz Bueno, made Sebastian City Council, used lively coloured metal. by León Barrenechea, from Irun, and defrayed by public subscrip- tion, this first tribute to Queen Maria Cristina from the city of Poster creator San Sebastian was inaugurated in Although he is also a pain- 1919. The queen is flanked by Charity and Virtue, and the frieze ter and a sculptor, Tomás represents the common people Hernández Mendizábal is and the wisdom. The statue has specially known as a grap- needed restoration several times. hic designer. The San Sebas- tian Jazz Festival, the Tolo- sa Carnival, and many other festivities and festivals in 35 Gipuzkoa have been Stele announced with the unmis- Ricardo Ugarte takable personality of this artist’s posters since 1965. Location: Centenario square (7-E) Date: 1970

As other works in San Sebastian streets –Zeharki by José Ramón Anda and Tribute 37 to Pio Baroja by Basterretxea–, this Stele by The merchants Ricardo Ugarte (Pasaia, 1942), inaugurated Manuel Santo Domingo on San Sebastian’s Day (January 20) 1970 Location: Mercaderes square (7-G) is the fruit of the International Sculpture Date: 1989 Biennial, organised by the San Sebastian Town Council during three years (from 1969 and 1971), with the aim of promoting this discipline and providing the city with its The Plaza de Los Mercaderes, own sculptural heritage. This rationalist in Amara Berri, pays a tribute sculpture, in metallic iron and zinc and 10 to the commercial sector as metres high, is the way the author created one of the milestones for the a balancing game of empty cubes of city’s development. The Plaza different sizes that have already become a de Los Mercaderes houses a characteristic element of this area. light sculpture, a structure of hollow prisms limited by iron small squares, suggesting merchants’ figures. This work, Pioneer donated to the city by the aut- hor, Manuel Santo Domingo, For many citizens who were used to busts made him the municipal archi- and romantic effigies, the Stele was the first tect for years. contact with sculptural avant-garde. The installation caused intense –and some times funny– controversies. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 28

38 Untitled Frieze Remigio Mendiburu

Location: Carlos I (7-G) Date: 1973

Just a small part of the hundreds of people What is it? crossing the underground passage linking the even and odd numbers of the Avenida de Car- Remigio Mendiburu did los I may know that, when they go towards not give a name to these the even numbers, they go towards a work by abstract shapes, articulated one of the most outstanding Basque sculp- with cylindrical shapes, tors: Remigio Mendiburu. This iron work, that is horizontally atta- which is four metres long and two metres ched to the wall. Therefore, high, was installed at the request of the Gipuz- each usual user of this pas- koa Provincial Council in 1973, coinciding sage has his own theory… with the highest urban development period of this area. 40 The Dove of Peace Nestor Basterretxea 39 Bust of the Duque de Mandas Location: Aita Donostia square (8-H) | Date: 1988 José Joaquín Barriola

Location: Cristina Enea park (8-E) | Date: 1926 The San Sebastian City Council commissio- ned this monumental work to Nestor Baste- By the sea rretxea at the end of the 80s, as a symbol of the city’s commitment to peace, freedom, and When it first landed on San good-fellowship. The Biscayan sculptor cap- Sebastian in 1988, Baste- The Cristina Enea Park is a real green oasis tured the idea by using the universal symbol rretxea’s Dove of Peace had in the heart of the city. This 100,000 square of peace, and created a big dove –seven a very different location, metre land was purchased and carefully metres high and nine metres wingspan– with since it was installed and prepared as a residence by Fermín de Lasala well-rounded profiles and made in iron coa- inaugurated in the Paseo y Collado (1832-1917), a liberal politician ted with white polyester. The sculpture, loca- de La Zurriola, with a big and diplomat from San Sebastian with a long ted at the Plaza Aita Donostia since 1993, feast for peace, next to the career –he was a Member of Parliament, a near the Sta- sea. At that moment, the senator, the Minister of Public Works, the dium, is conceived to present Kursaal Palace Spanish Ambassador in Paris and London… be observed from –Moneo’s famous cubes– Essentially outstanding due to his promotion the front. The legacy of public works, he was the Duke of Mandas was not even a dream, and The magnificent inheritance because of his marriage to Doña Cristina the Dove fought alone the Duke of Mandas beque- Brunetti, Duchess of Mandas and Villanueva against the sea for several athed to the city includes and Countess of Belálcazar and, after his years, until the urban deve- strict conditions, such as the death, he bequeathed the land and lopment works of the Paseo public use of the park and everything it contained to the city. The city de La Zurriola made it the prohibition to modify it remembers the Duke with a bust, a work by become a migratory bird. or change its name, as a tri- José Joaquín Barriola (1895-1984), that bute to the Duchess. can be visited in that same park. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 30

41 Taller de Deba

Location: Esplanade opposite the (8-H) | Date: 2006

A modest man who was really loved by the city of San Sebastian died in Octo- ber 2005. Alberto Ormaetxea was the Real Sociedad coach during the most glorious times of the city’s football team. The club itself commissioned to the Taller de Deba a commemorative monument captured in a bronze bust, a work by Marino Plaza, integrated into a piece of black Markina marble.

Champions Alberto Ormaetxea, from Eibar, is a key figure in the history of the Real Sociedad. In the 60s, he was an outs- tanding blue and white stri- ped player, making a memo- rable trio with Gorriti and Martínez. During the 1980s, he lived the team’s golden age, winning the Spanish 43 League championship two Ateak –Doors consecutive years. The Aitor Mendizabal sculpture was precisely inaugurated within the cele- bration of the 25th anniver- Location: Irun square (8-G) Date: 1996 sary of the 1981 victory.

42 The building of a shopping centre and the Atano III development of a new urban area meant the Xebas Larrañaga regeneration, in the 90s, of a square that had been neglected on the far end of the Location: Anoeta, opposite to the Atano III Amara Quarter. During that transitional pelota court (8-H) phase, the City Council selected the Date: 2005 proposal by the sculptor Aitor Mendizabal The illustrious (Venezuela, 1949) and decided to install a men monument from the past as a sign of future. Many people consider Mariano Juaristi The artists, thus, integrated into the two big In 1913, the Monument to the Mendizabal, born in Azkoitia and known as “gates” made in marble, copper, and bronze, Centenary was ostenta- Atano III, as the best Basque Pelota player the remains of an old monument erected in tiously installed in Alderdi of all times. On the centenary of his birth, 1913 in the memory of the San Sebastian Eder. It evoked the illus- Pilotaren Batzarra commissioned this bust citizens who, a hundred years before, led the trious San Sebastian men to one of the player’s neighbours, intending rebirth of the city, which was practically who, gathered in Zubieta, to reflect the exciting and tense moment the destroyed in a battle in August 1813. The decided to rebuild the city. sportsman suffers between two points. sculpture is the central element of a The monument had a short cybernetic fountain. life and the “illustrious men” wandered about the city for decades until they found their own place in Amara. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 32

44 Tribute to 46 Albert Einstein Manolo Chopera Javier San Miguel

Faustino Aizkorbe Location: Entrance to the Kutxaespacio Science Museum (5-H) Date: 2005

Location: Roundabout near the After an active visit, as the Kutxaespacio Science Museum is worth, after Illumbe bullring (8-H) testing its multiple experiments, it is grateful to rest sitting on a bench. Even Date: 2004 more, if our seatmate is one of the most important scientists of all times, Albert Einstein. On the fiftieth anniversary of his death and on the centenary Manuel Martínez Flamarique, best known of his famous Theory of Relativity, the museum commissioned this bronze as Manolo Chopera, represents a famous work to Javier San Miguel, allowing us to sit beside the brilliant Einstein. family of bullfighting businessmen. When he died in 2002, the Illumbe Bullring, after its recent construction and recovering San Sebastian’s bullfighting tradition, re- ceived many requests to pay a tribute to In Lilliput Chopera. They were pictured in a bull’s fi- Memorial gure in corten steel, commissioned to the Besides looking at to the Einstein himself would Navarrese sculptor Faustino Aizkorbe. Plaza de Illumbe from more probably feel comfortable than three metres high, the at the entrance of the sculpture commemorating Kutxaespacio Science Mu- Manolo Chopera has other seum. Its gardens hide small-size versions. A replica several installations evi- of the work is the trophy dencing Principles of Phy- received by the winner of the sics and a collection of annual World Encounter of models, ‘Gipuzkoa in Bullfighters ‘Memorial miniature,’ recreating the Manolo Chopera.’ territory’s main monu- ments to scale.

45 Sculpture in memory of 47 Juan Miguel Orcolaga Ricardo Ugarte Location: Miramón, by the entrance to the Kutxa Training Centre (5-H) Miguel Fermin-Oa Date: 1994 Location: Igeldo quarter (1-C) The idea of a castle as a space Date: 1916 gathering the memory of a people is recurrent in the work by Ricardo Ugarte, from Pasaia, whose series ‘Gaztelu’ At the beginning of the 20th century, the (‘Castle’) has extended people from San Sebastian –especially the throughout time and space. seamen– started the day reading the Miramón hides one of these weather reports written by Juan Miguel stylized iron castles by Orcolaga, the “weatherman” of Igeldo and Ugarte, an artist convinced his meteorological observations were of that ‘the natural setting of great prestige. Father Orcolaga, who had sculptures is outside, in been vicar in , founded the Igeldo community spaces, streets, Meteorological Observatory in 1914, which squares, gardens…, in contact has not stopped working since then and with the people.’ which still is one of the most important in the Bay of Biscay. At present, his bust is located near the Basque Pelota Court. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 34

48 Moby Dyck 50 Untitled Andrés Nagel Adolfo Schlosser

Location: José María Sert square (1-F) Location: Europa square - Ibaeta (1-F) | Date: 1996 Date: 1990

This sculpture, inspired by the legendary As many other works, this three-legged horse white whale emerged from Herman Mel- ridden by an acrobat waited for several years ville’s imagination and created in 1990, for a final destination until 1996, when it was was beached on the gardens of the Plaza installed on a roundabout of the Avenida de del Centenario for many years. After Tolosa. At that time, the San Sebastian City being removed from its location since Council commissioned to the artist this large- 1992 due to the area’s remodelling scale bronze, which is now located in one of works, the Schlosser’s work, purchased the most important streets of the city, near by the San Sebastian City Council to a the San Sebastian Campus of the University gallery in Madrid, reappeared in a more From Austria of the Basque Country. After the last remo- appropriate natural place in 2003: the Born in Leitersdorf (Austria) delling of the area, the horse, reminiscent of pond of the Plaza José María Sert in the in 1939, Schlosser has been mythological times, inhabits its own park… Benta Berri Quarter. The big granite and living in Spain since 1967. steel tail finally emerges from the sea His work is a constant reflec- instead of rising from the grass, and its tion on nature. In 1991, he new location allows enjoying its appea- was awarded the National rance more clearly. Art Prize.

Borderless 49 Fountain Born in San Sebastian in Francisco López Hernández 1947, Andrés Nagel is one of Realists the more international Spa- Location: Zubimusu park (1-E) | Date: 1992 nish plastic artists of the last Francisco López Hernández years. Throughout his long is, together with his brother career, he has been cons- and also sculptor Julio and tantly crossing, until dilu- the painter Antonio López tion, the borders of artistic (there are no family ties Children playing in the Zubimusus Park genres, disciplines, techni- among them, but decades of –designed by the architect Joaquín ques and materials, as well Montero, born in San Sebastian, author of close friendship and collabo- as applying his creativity such emblematic projects as the ration), one of the most outs- and mastery of the most Miramom Science Museum, and close tanding figures of the collaborator of Eduardo Chillida in the Spanish contemporary diverse techniques to sculp- conditioning of Chillida-Leku– do not School of Realism. ture, , illustration, leave this place of surprising delicateness engraving… until nightfall. This is not the case of the two bronze children created by Francisco López, who, climbed on a concrete wall, remain always looking at the non- stopping flow of water feeding the Park’s pond. A pond that, by the way, hides another sculpture: a dantzari (Basque dancer) that should theoretically dance an aurresku (Basque honour dance) every hour; although he has been as still as the patient bronze children for years. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 36

51 Children’s Game 53 Monolith Agustín Ibarrola Equipo 57

Location: Intxaurrondo Location: Intxaurrondo. Bernart Etxepare Square Pablo Sorozabal square (12-D) Date: 1991(12-D) Date: 1990

The sculptor Agustín Iba- rrola (Basauri, 1930) has This eight metres high monolith, made in left his imprint in almost corten steel plates, is made of two all the most renovating rectangular sheets, joined in a bottom right artistic movements of angle, that cross from the half of the work. the last decades. In order It is based on a former model created by to create this long spiral tunnel, he used rail- the Equipo 57, a collective group that not Intxaurrondo way sleepers –a material he has resorted to only worked in sculpture, but also in very frequently. This Juego de Niños and the painting, design or cinema. The work, Intxaurrondo is one of the sculptural work Las Siluetas (The Silhouet- The team whose model was provided by Agustín most recent urban develop- tes) were installed in Intxaurrondo at the Ibarrola, is located in the roundabout ments in the city, a young request of the Department of Urban Deve- Made up of Juan Cuenca, opposite to the Paseo de Mons and the quarter that has been equip- lopment of the at the Juan Duarte and Juan Serra- Paseo de Zarategi and was commissioned ped with wide squares and beginning of the 90s. Nevertheless, this work no, all from Cordoba, Ángel by the Basque Government, in charge of roundabouts, introducing belongs to an earlier period. Duarte, from Caceres and the area’s urban development. interesting sculptural works the Biscayan Agustin Iba- into the new urban spaces. rrola, the Equipo 57 decisi- vely contributed to the reco- very of Spanish avant-garde from 1957 to 1962.

52 Growing Shapes Koldobika Jauregui 54 The Silhouettes Location: South Intxaurrondo. Agustín Ibarrola Sagastieder square (11-E) Date: 1994 Location: Intxaurrondo. Gabriel Celaya square (12-D) Date: 1984 Horses were one of the basic axes in the work by the sculptor Koldobika Jauregi (, 1959) for some time. This sculptor, one of the Basque artists who best worked Celaya and Ibarrola, who shared their wood, enjoys the highest international re- militancy to the Communist Party during cognition at present. The sculpture, with to- the difficult times before the Spanish temic influences, is eight metres high and transition, are together again in more than 120 tons of weight; it is precisely Intxaurrondo. Ibarrola created, expressly based on the superposition of horse heads, for this square, a group of six corten steel although the artists, in this case, did not lea- plate panels, opening of many silhouettes. ve the wood heart visible, but sculpted his In fact, he projected this work with the work in grey marble coming from Gipuzkoa’s architect who designed the square. Lastur Valley. CAT ESCUL 08 ingles 28/3/08 09:09 Página 38

55 Zergatik José Antonio Díaz de Quevedo Location: Añorga Txiki (1-H) | Date: 1979

On the grass of the Añorga Quarter, some shapes evoking a human figure, maybe falling down, throw questions to the viewer. ‘Zergatik’ (‘Why’) not only intrigues, but also hides a secret feature. Díaz de Quevedo used a very special material to create it: tubes, sticks, sheets, and scrap coming from the scrapping of an old installation of Cementos Rezola.

56 Tribute to Antxon Ayestaran Mikel Cristti

Location: Añorga quarter (1-H) Date: 1990

This is not the only sculpture in San Sebastian remembering Antxon Ayestaran, conductor of the Orfeon Donostiarra for many years, but it has the peculiarity of being located in Añorga, his neighbourhood, and of having been a commission by the neighbours to the sculptor Mikel Cristti (San Sebastian, 1955). In order to preserve the memory of a man devoted to music and its promotion –he created the workshops that have brought music to hundreds of chil- Suggesting dren–, the artist created a rectangular iron Mikel Cristti was going to block of more than two metres high, cros- become a master builder, sed by five vertical slits, looking like a re- when one of Oteiza’s pie- versed score. ces cleared the concept of sculpture to him. His mini- malist work intends to su- ggest, rather than to teach.