Vilar, Manuel (1812–1860)
Vilar, Manuel (1812–1860)
Manuel Vilar (b. 15 November 1812; d. 25 November 1860), sculptor. Trained in his native Barcelona and Rome, Vilar was chosen as director of sculpture when the Academia de San Carlos in Mexico City was reestablished. He arrived in 1846. Vilar had studied with Pietro Tenerani and was sympathetic to the ideals of the Nazarenes (a group of German painters who sought to revitalize Christian art). He brought to Mexico an important collection of plaster casts acquired in Rome, and worked with the energy of a believer in the redemptive value of art to revive monumental sculpture in Mexico. He produced work with themes that were classical, religious, and secular, as well as portraits. Probably his most ambitious work was a full-size bronze statue of a pre-Columbian hero, Tlahuicole (1851). Autographed manuscripts and many documents provide information about his life and career.
See alsoArt: The Nineteenth Century .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Salvador Moreno, El escultor Manuel Vilar (1969).
Clara Bargellini