Dolores Candelaria Mora Vega (November 17, 1866 – June 7, 1936) known professionally as Lola Mora, was a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

born in

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario an ...

, in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. She is known today as a rebel and a pioneer of women in her artistic field.

Early life

Dolores was the daughter of Romualdo Alejandro Mora, a prosperous landowner of

Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neigh ...

of Spanish origin and Regina Vega. She was the third born of seven children, three boys and four girls. Her parents (unusual behavior for the time) decided that the girls should also have the best education possible. In 1870 when Lola was four years old her parents moved the family to San Miguel del Tucumán. At seven years of age, she was a boarding school pupil at Colegio Sarmiento de ucumán Province In 1885, within two days both her parents died. Her older sister Paula Mora Vega married the engineer Guillermo Rucker, and together took care of the orphans.

Education

At 20 years of age she began painting

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

s, but soon turned to sculpting

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. She studied art in her home province and then, with a scholarship, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, studying under

Costantino Barbella Costantino Barbella (January 31, 1853 in Chieti – December 5, 1925) was an Italian sculptor, known as ''il Michetti della scultura''. He began his career by modeling terracotta figurines for churches and Nativity Scenes (Presepe). In 1872, Fr ...

and

Giulio Monteverde Giulio Monteverde (8 October 1837 – 3 October 1917) was an Italian naturalist sculptor and teacher. Biography Monteverde was born in Bistagno, Italy and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He later became a professor there.McKay, J ...

. In 1900 she returned to Argentina and, with government connections, was commissioned to create two bas-reliefs for the Historical House of Tucumán. As her career developed, her sensual style and her status as a female artist made her controversial. In 1903 her ''

Nereids In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters ...

Fountain'', created for the city of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, met bureaucratic problems at the city's Deliberative Council, which had the sculpture moved around from place to place. Near the end of her life, she entered into some extravagant business (such as financing

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

surveys in

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

), and then retired with only a

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

to support herself. After her death in Buenos Aires, in poverty and obscurity, her friends burned her letters, mementos and personal diaries. Mora obtained various patents. One included a system to project

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s without a screen (using a column of

vapor In physics, a vapor (American English) or vapour (British English and Canadian English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critic ...

), as well as systems for

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

. Mora was the subject of the 1996 film "Lola Mora", directed by Argentine director Javier Torre.

Works

Mora's works include (in Buenos Aires unless otherwise noted): * two bas-reliefs at the House of Tucumán, with the themes of the

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

's First National Government and the Declaration of Independence, 1900 * the Nereids Fountain, now located at

Puerto Madero Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land ...

, 1903 * two major sculptural groups flanking the entrance, and other interior and exterior work,

Palace of the Argentine National Congress The Palace of the Argentine National Congress ( es, Palacio del Congreso de la Nación Argentina, often referred locally as ''Palacio del Congreso'') is a monumental building, seat of the Argentine National Congress, located in the city of Buenos ...

, inaugurated 1906 (four allegorical sculptures of ''Peace, Justice, Liberty'' and ''Progress'' were moved to the grounds of the Government House of

San Salvador de Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

) * several sculpture groups placed along the "Oath Passage" in the historic centre of

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

, leading to the National Flag Memorial * female figure for the crypt of Ramon Lopez Lecube,

La Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de la Recoleta) is a cemetery located in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, includi ...

, circa 1912City of Angels: The History of Recoleta Cemetery : a Guide to Its Treasures, OLMO Ediciones, 2002, page 71 * Avellaneda Memorial, Plaza Alsina, Avellaneda, 1913 * ''Liberty'', Independence Square,

* Monument to

Francisco Narciso de Laprida Francisco Narciso de Laprida (October 28, 1786 in San Juan – September 22, 1829) was an Argentine lawyer and politician. He was a representative for San Juan at the Congress of Tucumán, and its president on July 9, 1816, when the Declara ...

San José de Jáchal San José de Jáchal (, often shortened to Jáchal) is a city in the northeast of the province of San Juan, Argentina, located on National Route 40, south of the Jáchal River. It has 21,018 inhabitants per the , and is the head town of the Jácha ...

File:Estatuas de Lola Mora 2.jpg, Monument to

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

along the Monument to the Flag in

File:Fuente de las Nereidas by Lola Mora 06.JPG, ''The Nereids Fountain'', Buenos Aires File:El Progreso.JPG, Progress File:Recoleta 011.jpg, Grave in

File:Estatuas de Lola Mora en el Congreso Nacional (lado Norte).JPG, Statues in the National Congress File:Estatuas de Lola Mora 6.jpg,

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word '' grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited fr ...

(

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

) File:La Justicia.JPG,

Lady Justice Lady Justice ( la, Iustitia) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia. Lady Justice originates from the ...

References

External links

VisiteTuc.com
- A site about Tucumán

- A women's site with a romantic biography

- Official website

- Pictures of the Oath Passage in Rosario, flanked by Lola Mora's sculptures {{DEFAULTSORT:Mora, Lola 1866 births 1936 deaths Argentine inventors Argentine women sculptors People from Salta Province People from Tucumán Province 19th-century Argentine sculptors 20th-century Argentine sculptors 19th-century Argentine women artists 20th-century Argentine women artists Women inventors