Mateo Inurria Laminosa

MATEO INURRIA LAINOSA (Córdoba, 1867 – Madrid, 1924).
“Form.”
Bronze.
Measurements: 74 x 31 x 20 cm.
This sculpture is a bronze version of *Forma*, one of the most representative works from Mateo Inurria’s mature period. The artist depicts a nude female torso, reduced to its essential elements and rendered through bold volumes, refined lines, and a marked formal simplification. The fragmentation of the figure focuses attention on the body and the treatment of its surfaces, where the interplay of light and shadow takes center stage.
The Prado Museum holds another version of *Forma*, a smaller marble sculpture created in 1920, with inventory number E000817. Inurria presented this version at the 1920 National Fine Arts Exhibition, where it won the Medal of Honor, one of the greatest accolades of his career.
Mateo Inurria Lainosa initially trained in Córdoba, in his father’s sculpture studio and at the city’s School of Fine Arts. Between 1883 and 1885, he continued his studies at the Special School of Painting, Sculpture, and Engraving in Madrid, later expanding his training thanks to a scholarship from the Provincial Council of Córdoba. His travels through Italy and France also contributed to his artistic development. His career spanned sculptural creation, teaching, and restoration. He served as a professor and later as director of art institutions in Córdoba, and worked on the restoration of the Córdoba Mosque and Medina Azahara. In 1913, he settled in Madrid, where he intensified his dedication to sculpture and developed a body of work characterized by refined forms and a combination of naturalism and idealization. Among his major accolades are the First Medal at the 1899 National Fine Arts Exhibition for *La mina de carbón* and the Medal of Honor in 1920, awarded for *Forma*. In 1922, he was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. His work is included in major public collections, including the Prado Museum, which houses *Forma* (1920), no. E000817, and the Reina Sofía National Art Center, where other versions of *Forma* and *La parra* are held. He is also represented in the Bank of Spain Collection. Notable among his public works are the Monument to Lope de Vega and the Monument to Eduardo Rosales in Madrid, as well as the Monument to the Great Captain in Córdoba.