MARIANO BENLLIURE

(1862 / 1947)

MARIANO BENLLIURE Valencia (1862) / Madrid (1947) "The two victims of the party", 1914

Bronze sculpture. Signed "M. Benlliure 914". With foundry seal "Campins y Codina, Madrid". On a green marble base (restored) inscription "The town of Hellin by popular subscription to Francos Rodriguez XIX, April, MCMXVII". Mounted on a glass base and marble base. In this impressive and tragic bronze sculptural group, Mariano Benlliure shows the bull, leaning on its hindquarters, forcefully lifting the horse into the air, now without a saddle, which appears fallen between its legs, like the halter, evidencing the cruelty towards his rival, who will precede him in the dramatic finale. In 1917 the Hellin City Council opened a popular subscription to offer a gift to the politician and journalist Jose Francos Rodriguez, married to a hellinera. He had already been named Favorite Son of Hellin, in addition to giving his name to one of its streets, in gratitude for his efforts in favor of the town while he was Director of Postal and Telegraph Services, and it was agreed to commission a sculpture from Mariano Benlliure, given the close friLateship that existed between the two. Two bronzes were cast at the Codina and Campins foundry in 1914, one of which was presented at the Venice Biennale that same year. The bullfighting group The Two Victims of the Feast offered to Francos Rodriguez is one of those two first castings from 1914, and presents clear differences from the other in the details that the sculptor introduced when retouching each of the waxes, such as the motto and the head of the horse, which appears fallen next to the hind legs of the bull, only included in this bronze, or the different dripping of wax to emulate the spurts of blood. We would like to thank the Mariano Benlliure Foundation and, in particular, Mrs. Lucrecia Enseñat Benlliure for the help provided in cataloging this lot. Measurements: 51 x 48 x 28 cm