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A Narcís Monturiol

A Narcís Monturiol is a sculpture by Spanish artist Josep Maria Subirachs, created in 1963 and installed at the corner of Diagonal Avenue and Girona Street in Barcelona, Spain. The monument is dedicated to the Spanish engineer and inventor Narcís Monturiol (1819–1885). In recessed sections of the reinforced concrete wall, Subirachs depicted a 1:7 prototype of the submarine Ictineo, created by Monturiol and tested in Barcelona’s port in 1859. The monument bears an inscription honoring Monturiol as the inventor of the Ictíneo, the first submarine to navigate submerged in the port of Barcelona on 28 June 1859. The work was inaugurated on 3 December 1963 and restored in 1995 and again in 2000–2001.

Monument to Narcís Monturiol, a tall textured concrete block with a submarine-like metal model protruding from its side, on a city sidewalk.
The Monument to Narcís Monturiol in Barcelona, showing its concrete base and metallic submarine form.
January 2021 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Monument to Narcís Monturiol with a dark angular sculpture and a submarine-shaped vessel on a city sidewalk.
The Monument to Narcís Monturiol in Barcelona, featuring a dark sculptural base with a submarine-shaped vessel mounted through it.
January 2023 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Monument to Narcís Monturiol with a bronze submarine model on a dark geometric pedestal beside a city street.
The Monument to Narcís Monturiol features a bronze submarine model mounted on a geometric base along a city sidewalk.
May 2009 © · CC BY 2.0
Monument to Narcís Monturiol with a scale submarine model emerging from a dark concrete base, with bicycles in front and a scaffolding-covered building behind.
The Monument to Narcís Monturiol features a scale submarine model rising from a dark concrete base.
May 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0 es
Scallop shell sculpture embedded in a dark gray wall relief at the Monument to Narcís Monturiol.
A silver scallop shell relief embedded in the Monument to Narcís Monturiol.
May 2014 © · CC BY-SA 2.0

Identification

TitleMonument to Narcís Monturiol
TypeSculpture monument

Historical context

Commission year1963
Date created1963
Date unveiled3 December 1963
Dedicated toNarcís Monturiol, Spanish engineer and inventor (1819–1885)
Commissioned byMutua Metalúrgica de Seguros
Commissioned as a tribute toNarcís Monturiol

Creator

ArtistJosep Maria Subirachs
Artist nationalitySpanish
Artist lifespan1927–2014

Location and ownership

LocationCorner of Diagonal Avenue and Girona Street, Eixample, Barcelona, Spain

Materials

MaterialsConcrete, copper, stone

Physical characteristics

Main structureA 4.20-meter-high concrete block
Surface treatmentThe two large surfaces of the concrete are worked with regular marks

Technique

Scale1:7

Appearance

Depicted subjectA copper reproduction of the submarine Ictineo set into a recess in the sculpture
Depicted subject creatorNarcís Monturiol
Depicted subject test date and placeTested in the port of Barcelona in 1859
Submarine materialCopper
Submarine copy scale1:7
Historical referenceThe Ictineo was created by Monturiol and tested in the port of Barcelona in 1859

History and restoration

RestorationRestored in 1995 with the support of Subirachs himself
Later restoration2000–2001, with Subirachs's consent, supervised by architect Maria Lluïsa Aguado
Inscription"Barcelona a Narciso Monturiol, inventor del "Ictíneo", primer submarino que navegó sumergido en el puerto de Barcelona el 28 de junio de 1859."
InscriptionAnother stone block bears an inscription, but the text is not provided