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El Cid by Anna Hyatt Huntington in Seville

El Cid by Anna Hyatt Huntington in Seville was a gift from the Hispanic Society of America to Spain for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. The work reflects Anna Hyatt Huntington’s interest in Spain’s history and culture, which she explored during extended stays in Seville. The City Council chose its site in late 1927 near the glorieta de San Diego, on the avenue then named for El Cid. Huntington made a prototype in 1927, now in Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina, and created the Seville statue that same year. The sculpture later appeared in Citizen Kane, and in 2013 it was dressed in a crocheted outfit by the artist Olek with support from Seville’s city council.

El Cid sculpture of a rider on a rearing horse atop a tiered stone pedestal.
El Cid mounted on a rearing horse rises above a tiered stone pedestal.
March 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
El Cid equestrian statue on a stone pedestal in a landscaped roundabout.
El Cid’s bronze equestrian statue stands in a landscaped roundabout with city streets around it.
April 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
El Cid statue showing a rider on a rearing horse holding a spear above a stone pedestal.
El Cid equestrian statue in Seville, set on a large pedestal in a public square.
April 2013 · CC BY-SA 3.0
El Cid on a rearing horse wrapped in multicolored crocheted yarn.
El Cid sculpture covered in bright crocheted yarn at night.
November 2013 © Ana Rey · CC BY-SA 2.0
Decorative stone plaque for El Cid mounted on a granite wall, with carved ram heads, fruit clusters, and a circular crest with text.
An ornate plaque associated with the El Cid monument is mounted on a granite wall.
June 2023 © · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleEl Cid
SubjectRodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid)
TypeStatue/monument

Creator

ArtistAnna Hyatt Huntington

Historical context

Commissioning institutionHispanic Society of America
Gift contextA gift from the Hispanic Society of America to Spain for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition in Seville
Commission and installation year1927
Date of location decisionEarly December 1927
Site selectionIn early December 1927, the Seville city council asked Mariano Benlliure to choose a location
Historical contextThe idea of the Hispanic Society donating a monument for the Seville Exposition likely arose from the good relations the Huntingtons had with organizers such as Vicente Traver and Mariano Benlliure
Related peopleArcher Milton Huntington, Vicente Traver, Mariano Benlliure, Alfonso XIII, Juan de Ávalos, Olek, Orson Welles

Location and ownership

Other copies' destinationsBalboa Park in San Diego; Lincoln Park in San Francisco; a smaller-scale version for a boulevard in the Caballito district of Buenos Aires
1964 replica commissionIn 1964, the Hispanic Society commissioned Spanish sculptor Juan de Ávalos to make a copy using a mold taken from the Seville statue
1964 replica destinationValencia
Current locationAvenida del Cid, next to the Glorieta de San Diego, Seville, Spain
Prototype locationBrookgreen Gardens, South Carolina
Original location of first versionIn front of the headquarters of the Hispanic Society in New York
Site noteThe avenue has been called Avenida del Cid since 1920

Materials

MaterialNot stated

History and restoration

Base inscriptionThe pedestal commemorates the relationship between El Cid and the city of Seville
Temporary decorationIn November 2013, Olek, with support from the Seville city council, dressed the statue in a crocheted outfit

Iconography and meaning

Iconographic detailAccording to the artist, Alfonso XIII spoke to her about Babieca, the Cid's horse

Significance

Film appearanceAppears in Orson Welles's film Citizen Kane