Ancieto Marinas Garcia, Spanish, 1866-1953, a bronze maquette of Eloy Gonzalo Garcia, the...

Ancieto Marinas Garcia, Spanish, 1866-1953, a bronze maquette of Eloy Gonzalo Garcia, the hero of Cascorro, 1900, the striding contrapposto figure, a rifle over his right shoulder, holding a flaming torch in his right hand, an oil drum under his left arm, the base with cast signature A Marinas and foundry inscription MASRIERA & CAMPINS FUNDIDOROS BARCELONA, the original rouge marble base with gilt-bronze plaque inscribed ELOY GONZALO HEROE DE CASCORRO, the bronze 60cm high, 84cm high overall

Exhibited: Madrid and Barcelona, 2000.

Note: Eloy Gonzalo García (1876-1897) was a distinguished Spanish soldier in the Cuban War of Independence. In September 1896 the small nationalist fortress town of Cascorro was seized by three thousand insurgents and the besieged Spanish forces were forced to set fire to the houses held by the enemy. According to various sources, Eloy Gonzalo volunteered to undertake the task, carrying a can of oil and with a rope tied to his waist, so if injured or killed, he could be recovered. He survived the mission and went on to take part in further military actions until his death a year later from an intestinal infection.

In 1897, the year of his death, the government of Spain decided to honour Gonzalo by commissioning a statue from Ancieto Marinas Garcia of The Hero of Cascorro.

Aniceto Marinas, a renowned sculptor of public monuments in Spain, studied at the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts and later in Rome. He participated in national and international exhibitions and received several awards. The present lot, a maquette for the statue in Plaza de Cascorro, in the heart of Madrid's Rastro, depicts Gonzalo in heroic pose, moments before his mission, striding forward, a rope tied to his waist, an oil drum under one arm, a flaming torch in the other and a bayonet across his chest.