Rafael Atché

RAFAEL ATCHÉ FANÉ (Barcelona, 1854-1923).
Model for the monument to Christopher Columbus in Barcelona.
Bronzed terracotta.
Signed.
Measurements: 75 x 55 x 26 cm.
Exhibitions: MEAM "Somnis i tentacions. La escultura catalana en temps del Modernisme", 2025. Reproduced in the catalog, page 21.

Sculptural model representing Christopher Columbus in a determined attitude, pointing with his arm extended towards the horizon, a gesture that symbolizes determination, vision and the explorer's impulse. The figure wears rich period clothing, treated with meticulous attention to folds, textures and material qualities, revealing Rafael Atché's technical skill. The composition combines dynamic energy in the gesture of the arm with a firm stability in the general posture of the body, achieving a balance between theatricality and monumentality. The bronzed terracotta imitates the final effect of the definitive public monument, allowing the expressive force of the original modeling to be appreciated.

Sculptor born in Barcelona in 1854, he studied at the Escuela de la Lonja and with the Vallmitjana brothers.
Together with the sculptor Clarassó, he directed a workshop in which they made polychrome religious sculptures, such as St. Augustine and St. Felix (1872). He participated in the National Exhibition of Madrid in 1882, presenting El genio herido, and in 1884 with the sculpture El mal ladrón. Known mainly for his sculpture of Christopher Columbus that crowns the Barcelona monument dedicated to the admiral. He made for the facade of the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia in Barcelona a sculpture of San Francisco de Paula and another of San Sebastian in 1890. For the building of the Royal Academy of Sciences, in the Rambla of Barcelona, he made the busts of P. Canyelles and Carbonell, as well as the decoration for the clock.