© Author: Xabier Sáenz de Gorbea • Editor: General Office of Turist Promotion • Design and photographs: Sonia Rueda • Printing: Flash Composition S.L. • Legal deposit: BI-2701-07

1- Martín de Saracíbar (1804-1891) “Vulcan” (1850) 2- Vicente Larrea (1934) Tribute to Kirikiño (1966) 3- Néstor Basterretxea (1924) “Estela Hirugarren Hilarria” (Third Tombstone Stele) (1993) 4- Mikel Lertxundi (1951) Untitled (1985-2006) 5- Juan Daniel Fullaondo (1936-1994) and Fernando Olabarria (1939) “Game of Pelota” (1970) 6- Vicente Larrea (1934) “Abstraction” (1994) 7- Bernabé de Garamendi (1833-1898) and Serafín Basterra (1850-1927) Monument to Pedro Pablo Astarloa (1886) 8- Imanol Marrodán (1964) “Seetor. (Aintzinaren etxea)” (Seetor. The House from Long Ago) (2005) 9- Higinio Basterra (1876-1957) Sacred Heart (1922) 10- Joaquín Lucarini (1905-1969) “Pity” (1951) 11- Joxe Amantegi (1966) Monument to Alejandro Aldekoa (1993) 12- Mikel Lertxundi (1951) “Oreka, naturaren hildotik” (Balance, Towards Nature) (1993) 13- Juanjo Novella (1961) “Dantzari” (Dancer) (1997) 9.

The Durangaldea district offers a continuity of moun- tainous landscapes scattered with towns and inten- sive manufacturing activity. The centre is composed of Durango and , an area that holds a significant number of sculptures, both ancient and contemporary. The district stretches from to Trabakua, taking in Mañaria, Abadiño and Bérriz, but there are also rec- ommendable references in , Zaldivar and . All the artists come from the Basque cultural envi- ronment. Two take us back to nineteenth century ar- tificers: Martín Saracíbar (1804-1891), Bernabé Gara- DURANGALDEA

mendi (1833-1898) and Serafín Basterra (1876-1957). From the first half of the twentieth century we have Higinio Basterra (1876-1957) and Joaquín Lucarini (1905-1969). Néstor Basterretxea (1924), Vicente Larrea (1934), Juan Daniel Fullaondo (1936-1994), Fernando Olabarría (1939) and Mikel Lertxundi (1951) represent the inheritances of the post-war Basque School move- ment. Imanol Marrodán (1964), Juanjo Novella (1961) and Joxe Amantegi (1966) provide considerations that move between connotative reference and figuration for all types of people. 1 Martín DE SARACÍBAR (1804-1891)

The arrival of the water supply into the centre of Otx- andio in 1850 was commemorated with a sculpture ar- ranged above the fountain trough. An initiative which is linked with the new values of ornate public items and similar to what was approved in . In this case, an original carving was used instead of a French casting. The motif chosen was the mythological theme of Vulcan, whose trade as a forger is related with the economic life of the territory. It was designed by the architect from Vitoria Martín de Saracíbar (1804-1891), who was also responsible for the Executive Building of the Regional Government of Álava, the city’s new square and the Town Hall in Tafalla. The figure is a full- length body statue and is standing. It is shown bare- chested and wearing only a cloth around its body. The icon seems inspired by the prototype created by Velázquez. The anatomical ideality and the coldness of the surfaces indicate the neoclassical links of the carving. It displays a certain movement in the limbs and in the restless diagonal descent of the cloth. The figure is wearing a laurel wreath and is accompanied by the forge and tongs. The res- toration by José Luis Butrón has been on the original mat- ter and there is a relief on the rear. DURANGALDEA

Otxandiano

“Vulcan” (1850) 2 Vicente LARREA (1934)

Evaristo Bustinza (1866-1929) was a reputed Basque writer. He popularised the pseudonym Kirikiño and pub- lished story books such as “Abarrak (1918) and “Bigar- rengo abarrak” (1930). Vicente Larrea (1934) dedicated a monument to his memory. It is made of welded and wrought iron and is supported on a stone that comes from a local quarry. It was in front of the cemetery and currently stands in the main square at Mañaria. It measures 3.2 x 1.8 x 2.2 metres and was inaugurated in 1966. It is made up of a series of curved sheets that create the mobility of an arc. The base shows the signs of its extraction from the mountain. It is a rough surface that has rhythmical horizontal and vertical lines. The model was reproduced in small for- mat in 1989. The series consists of 50 copies in bronze meas- uring 23 x 6 x 17 cm. DURANGALDEA

Mañaria

Tribute to Kirikiño (1966) 3 Nestor BASTERRETXEA (1924)

Néstor Basterretxea (1924) is the author of the stele “Hirugarren Hilarria” which has stood close to the church of San Pedro in Tavira since 1993. It is made of stone, 3.5 metres tall and weighs 20 tonnes. The origi- nal is smaller and dates from 1974. The artist adopts the discoidal model, transforms its anthropomorphic origin and converts it into an abstract expression whose content is linguistic, emotional and sensitive. It provides continuity between past and present, support and figure, the vertical el- ement and the enormous circular top. The surface is variable and discon- tinuous. Its graphics is hazardous and instinc- tive, and moves inside the geometrical purity that frames it. DURANGALDEA

Durango

“Estela Hirugarren Hilarria” (Third Tombstone Stele) (1993) 4 Mikel LERTXUNDI (1951)

This work was produced by Mikel Lertxundi (1951). The cube is made up of the confluence of different ele- ments. The volume is a categorical, hermetic presence whose block commands respect. The components are drawn on each face by means of diagrammatical fig- ures. In an exercise of ennobling the material itself, it is left uncovered and the qualities of each are en- hanced. The artist works with textures without forcing nature itself, with which each process foments their inherent qualities. The iron allows an uneven, rough texture to be seen. The stone has an even stipple that endows the planes with volume. Small circular inci- sions have been cut into the wood, creating a mobile rhythm that highlights the immobility of the rest. The compact mass opens up to the premonitions of in- ner interstices, while the surfaces allow the unit to be undone by creating the representation of figura- tive openings. DURANGALDEA

Durango

Untitled (1985-2006) 5 Juan Daniel FULLAONDO (1936-1994) / Fernando OLABARRIA (1939)

The work was made by the architects for the Plaza de Ezkurdi in Durango, where it is situated. A singular set- ting, which won the Pedro de Asúa award of the Basque Navarrese Architects’ Association in 1971. Its authors, Juan Daniel Fullaondo (1936-1994) and Fernando Ola- barría (1939), created a pair of discoidal steles whose ti- tle, “Game of Pelota” (1970), is a reference to the pelota court on one side of the square. The works are made of stone and based on the mobile pair by Jorge Oteiza (1908-2003). Like in the work by the artist from Orio, they lay out an orthogonal junction between two semi- circular plates. In this case, the material is emphasised by making it thicker. A mass that includes cylindrical holes and curved parallel lines that provide the idea of movement. The area is being modernised in 2007 and is to be converted into a bigger park. DURANGALDEA

Durango

“Game of Pelota” (1970) 6 Vicente LARREA (1934)

Vicente Larrea Gayarre (1934) is the author of “Ab- straction” (1994). It is iron, painted red, that measures 2.6 x 2.5 x 1.7 metres and weighs 9 tonnes. It is situ- ated in Galtzareta street, inside the gardens of the Art and History Museum. It was placed on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the institution and financed by the Town Council of Durango and the Regional Government of Bizkaia. It consists of a set of protuber- ances that sprinkle the space. The volume gets thinner and becomes the continuity of a sheet that interacts on one side and the other, inside and out. It is as if the matter is suffering stomach cramps and has the capability to conjure up the dynamics of cloths and folds. The sculptor keeps only the external limits and empties the interior of the mass. He manages to make a hard material create soft sensations and convey the idea that it wrinkles as if it were a fine paper. DURANGALDEA

Durango

“Abstraction” (1994) 7 Bernabé de GARAMENDI (1833-1898) / Serafín de BASTERRA (1850-1927)

The artistic partnership formed by Bernabé de Gara- mendi (1833-1898) and Serafín de Basterra (1850-1927) produced the monument to Pedro Pablo Astarloa (1752- 1806), a reputed Basque scholar born in Durango. The work was inaugurated on 24 July 1886 and is the first in Bizkaia to honour a person. The piece consists of a pedestal whose prismatic volume holds the details of the subject of the tribute and the popular dedication. The work illustrates the clergyman with his full-length cassock. The statue is standing and is life-size. It is holding a book in one hand, showing it forward and indicating its activity. The sculpting is compact and vertical. The arms are close to the body and there is no space between the legs. The figure is shown with a certain neoclassical coldness, as implied by the compound order, the polish on the surfaces and the balance of the legs situated in the same plane. But it also has a certain romantic consciousness on attend- ing to the characteristic and to the movement of the folds in cloths that show some curvilinear waves. It was inaugurated on the occasion of the Basque Festivities. It cost 2,875 pesetas, an amount that was paid by popular sub- scription and by the Town Council in Durango. DURANGALDEA

Durango

Monument to Pedro Pablo Astarloa (1886) 8 Imanol MARRODÁN (1964)

Since 2005, “Seetor (Ainzinaren Etxea)” has been sited in front of the new building for the Basque Book and Record Show in Durango, a town that was attacked by the pro-Franco air force. It is a variant on the project “Seetor (The Gateway to the Lake)”, created in 2002 for the city of Dresden, which was also dramatically bombed, although during the Second World War. The work is by Imanol Marrodan (1964). It measures 5.98 x 7.99 x 5.65 metres and weighs 25 tonnes. It is made of Corten steel and its interior has been painted in DURANGALDEA

Durango

white epoxy. It consists of a truncated cone whose skin has not completely closed and rises to create an inclined diagonal protector. It has psychic spatial instability. The cavity draws the shape of a lock and has the virtue of providing shade on the ground. It is like watching the world from an opening that looks towards the sky. An observatory that has the air of a defensive space and carries out an interaction with the architecture in its surroundings. A new symbol for Durango.

“Seetor. (Aintzinaren etxea)” (Seetor. The House from Long Ago) (2005) 9 Higinio BASTERRA (1876-1957) DURANGALDEA

Abadiño

Sacred Heart (1922) 9 Higinio BASTERRA (1876-1957)

The cemetery at Abadiño has a porticoed typology, in the centre of which there are two very interesting pan- theons from the statuary point of view. The project by Higinio Basterra (1876-1957) has a triangular structure. The Sacred Heart is seated, an unusual position in our context. It raises its gaze and is sheltering two figures on its lap, one on each side: The one on the right is facing backwards, while the one on the right is facing DURANGALDEA

Abadiño

forward. The human and ailing abandonment of these lifeless bodies contrasts with the tense verticality of the Saviour, a symbol of love and compassion. The sculpting manages to dynamise the compact mass of the volume by the way each figure is represented. It is dated 1922 and bears the text: “Blessed are those who sleep in the Lord”.

Sacred Heart (1922) 10 Joaquín LUCARINI (1905-1969)

“Pity” by Joaquín Lucarini (1905-1969) exalts the dramatic quality of the motif and provides iconogra- phy inspired in Baroque culture. The figures are dis- played in a pyramidal structure. Their individualities are powerfully detailed and their dramatic faces draw the attention, with the Virgin Mary’s being symmetri- cal and Jesus Christ’s bony. Lying between hope and sorrow, the volumes are clearly marked and the anatomical study reveals notable expressiveness. DURANGALDEA

Abadiño

The wounds of the crucifixion and of the spear in the side are very impressive orifices. The artist decides for an ascending rhythm. The gaze rises from the “L” formed by the male body and reaches the head, which is tilted to the left. It then travels to the female likeness which is upright towards the right. The di- rections create contrary tensions and are signs of the past and of the future, respectively. The work is signed and bears the date 1951.

“Pity” (1951) 10 Joaquín LUCARINI (1905-1969) DURANGALDEA

Abadiño

“Pity” (1951) 11 Joxe AMANTEGUI (1966)

The Monument to Alejandro Aldekoa Aranburu (1920- 1996), who played the Basque flute or “txistu” and was better known as Aretxandieta, stands in Berriz, on a small, spiral masonry wall. The block consists of a pentagonal prism on which the hollow figure of the musician is represented as he plays the txistu and tamboril (drum). It has internal lighting, which allows atypical nocturnal observation. The image is given a DURANGALDEA

Berriz

pop art feeling by cutting out the silhouette and strik- ingly illuminating the vicinity. A simplified map of the Basque Country is drawn on the top side, with the out- line of a lauburu (four-headed cross) in the middle. The work is by Joxe Amantegi (1966) and was inaugurated in 1993. The artist from Durango has fixed a copper plate with the following text: “ALEJANDRO ALDEKOA TXISTULARIARI 1993. EKO MAIATZAK”.

Monument to Alejandro Aldekoa (1993) 12 Mikel LERTXUNDI (1951)

This project is sited at the top of the Trabakua mountain pass, in , at the junction of the Berriz, Ermua and Markina roads. This work was produced by Mikel Lertxundi (1951). It is called “Oreka, naturaren hildo- tik”. It reveals different material cycles and is made of stone, wood and Corten steel. The author seeks harmo- ny and balance gives each element different volumes. The structure is vertical and the result is totemic. It measures 2.6 x 2 x 7.5 metres and is dated 1993. DURANGALDEA

Mallabia

“Oreka, naturaren hildotik” (Balance, Towards Nature) (1993) 13 Juanjo NOVELLA (1961)

Juanjo Novella (1961) is the author of “Dantzari”. It is a bronze, made in 1997, that stands 2.1 metres tall and is located in the Plaza Aita San Miguel at Iurreta, on the church esplanade. The statue represents the classical Basque sword dance. The artist accurately expresses the rhythm of the movement, the body anatomy and the folk costume and with a wealth of details. The figure is looking towards the tower and standing on one foot. It has the qual- ity of displaying the har- mony of the movement by means of natural ease of asymmetrical balance. A traditional and popular sculpture. DURANGALDEA

Iurreta

“Dantzari” (Dancer) (1997) 9- durangaldea