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Palankari (Basque Metal Bar Thrower)
Huerta, Moisés de
Muriel de Zapardiel, Valladolid, 25/09/1881-Mérida, Badajoz, 01/02/1962
Marble
28.5 x 19 x 14.5 cm
Moises Huerta (on the reverse)
1934
Second quarter of the 20th century
82/2379
Acquired in 1935
In Palankari [Basque Metal Bar Thrower], fashioning a torso without arms or legs and an outwards movement from within that is also to be found in other works from de Huerta's Roman period. This small, Rodin-like nude torso captures the bar thrower's body in tension; he is depicted at the most crucial moment of his throwing action, when, revolving on his feet rather like a discus thrower, he concentrates his muscle power on the metal bar. Two other, slightly larger versions exist of this sculpture, albeit with a number of variations, one in a glossy plaster, the other in bronze. De Huerta sent this marble version to the 3rd Exhibition of Basque Artists held in the galleries of the Museum of Modern Art in Bilbao in 1934. [Santiago Arcediano]
Selected bibliography
- Bengoechea, Javier de. Catálogo de arte moderno y contemporáneo del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, 1980. p. 145. (Con el título Palankari).
- Alix, Josefina. Escultura española : 1900-1936. Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura, 1985. p. 261.
- Barañano, Kosme María de. El trabajo y el arte. Bilbao, Caja de Ahorros Vizcaina, 1986.
- Bazán de Huerta, Moisés. El escultor Moisés de Huerta, 1881-1962. Bilbao, Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa, 1992. pp. 175, 243, n° cat. 243.
- Artistas vascos en Roma : 1865-1915 [Cat. exp.]. Donostia-San Sebastián, Kutxa Gizarte eta Kultur Fundazioa = Fundación Social y Cultural Kutxa, 1995. p. 452, sin n° cat.
- Mateo Inurria y la escultura de su tiempo [Cat. exp.]. Córdoba, Ayuntamiento; Junta de Andalucía;Fundación Provincial de Artes Plásticas Rafael Botí, 2007. p. 411.
- Gida Euskal Artistak. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Eder Museoa, 2008. pp. 81-82.
- Guía Artistas Vascos. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2008. pp. 81-82.
- Mateo Inurria y la escultura de su tiempo. Córdoba, Ayuntamiento , 2011. p. 245.
- Guide Basque Artists. Bilbao, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, 2012. pp. 80-81, n° cat. 37b.