1/22/2021 Fuente del Ángel Caído - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 40.411053°N 3.682535°W

Fuente del Ángel Caído

The Fuente del Ángel Caído (Fountain of the Fallen
Fuente del Ángel Caído
Angel or Monument of the Fallen Angel) is a fountain
located in the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain.

The statue that crowns the monument is the

masterpiece of Ricardo Bellver who realized it in
plaster in 1877 while a 3rd year pensioner in Rome,
inspired by verses from Paradise Lost of John Milton
(Canto I).[1] He submitted it to the 1877 edition of the
Exposiciones Nacionales de Bellas Artes where it
received the first prize.[2] The state acquired the work
and presented it to the 1878 Exposition Universelle.
Since only works in marble and bronze were accepted,
the statue was cast in bronze at this occasion and the
plaster original destroyed.

The statue returned to Spain in what was then the

Museo Nacional de Pintura y Escultura (also known as
the Museo de la Trinidad, now part of the Museo del
Prado). The director of the museum, Benito Soriano
Murillo, proposed its relocation in the open space so
that the public could freely enjoy this peculiar and
unusual creation. The statue was passed to the city
hall[3] that placed it on the spot of its present location
which was formerly occupied by the Real Fábrica de
Porcelanas de la China before its destruction during
the French invasion in 1813, at the intersection of the Artist Ricardo Bellver (statue)
paseo de Cuba, the paseo de Uruguay and the paseo Francisco Jareño (pedestal)
del Duque de Fernán Nuñez in the Retiro park. The Medium Bronze, stone
duque de Fernán Nuñez (probably Manuel Falcó y d Location Retiro Park, Madrid, Spain
´Adda y Valcárcel, the husband of the III Duquesa de
Fernán Núñez)[4] sponsored the monument. The architect Francisco Jareño was charged to design
the pedestal, that is octagonal with figures of devils on each side gripping fishes, lizards and snakes,
and placed at the center of a fountain of 10 meters diameter, itself surrounded by a parterre. The
inauguration was made by the Queen consort of Spain Maria Christina of Austria in 1885. The
monument is 7 meters high (the statue itself is 2.65 meters) and lies at the center of a roundabout
named after the statue, that also gives its name to an entrance of the park.

While the work, turned over by a student, initially received its share of criticisms,[1] it was mainly
highly received by the critics and is now an attraction of the Spanish capital. It is renowned for its
dramatic appeal, the tension in the expression and its ambiguity in treating a polemical subject that
caused turmoil regarding its possible interpretation as a satanic tribute.[5] It has the reputation to be
the only prominent sculpture dedicated to the devil. It is, however, correct that it happens to stand at
666 meters above sea level.[6] There is a polyester resin replica of Bellver's work at the Museum of the
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid where details can be better appreciated.[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuente_del_Ángel_Caído 1/2
1/22/2021 Fuente del Ángel Caído - Wikipedia

Detail of the statue The pedestal of the General view of the

fountain with statues of fountain
demons, lizards, fishes
and snakes

References
1. "Ángel caído, El [Bellver]" (https://www.museodelprado.es/enciclopedia/enciclopedia-on-line/voz/
angel-caido-el-bellver/). www.museodelprado.es. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
2. Catálogo de la Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, Madrid, 1878, págs. 86-87.
3. Nash, Elizabeth (27 May 1998). "Madrid enjoys the devil of a row over a fallen angel" (https://ww
w.independent.co.uk/news/madrid-enjoys-the-devil-of-a-row-over-a-fallen-angel-1157515.html).
www.independent.co.uk. London. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
4. "Palacio de Fernán Nuñez" (http://www.madridvillaycorte.es/palacio-fernan-nunez.php).
www.madridvillaycorte.es. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
5. "El Retiro, El Ángel Caído" (http://www.unaventanadesdemadrid.com/retiro-angel-caido.html).
unaventanadesdemadrid.com/. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
6. "Fuente del Ángel Caído" (http://www.rutasconhistoria.es/loc/fuente-del-angel-caido).
www.rutasconhistoria.es. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
7. Fanjul, Sergio C. (26 March 2011). "Los secretos de una curiosa ciudad" (http://elpais.com/diario/
2011/03/26/madrid/1301142267_850215.html) [The secrets of an interesting city]. El País (in
Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 26 August 2015.

External links
Photos of the Fallen Angel (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fountain_of_the_Fallen
_Angel,_Madrid) from Wikimedia Commons.

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This page was last edited on 26 July 2020, at 15:52 (UTC).

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