Alonso Neira Martinez (December 27, 1913 – January 31, 1990) was a Colombian

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 ...

Biography

Born in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. His first encounter with

sculpture 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 ...

was through

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

. He helped in his father's (don Segundo Neira)

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

shop named "Etruria" which was open between 1890 and 1952.
1933. Went into the School of Beaux Arts in Bogota where he studied painting and

with: Domingo Rodriguez, Gustavo Arcila Uribe, Domingo Moreno Otero, Carlos Reyes, Ramon Barba and Eugenio Zerda.
1935. Makes monument to the Chía (Moon) Goddess in Chía ( Cundinamarca) along with Martin A. Jimenez and Luis Alfonso Sanchez V. ] 1936. Finalizes Art Studies.
1938 - 1957. Professor at the School of Beaux Arts at the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, ...

.
1940. Participant in the I Salon of Colombian Artists with the work: "Head of a Man", direct woodwork; and "Head of a Woman", ceramic.
1942. Participant of the III Salon of Colombian Artists first prize in sculpture with: Life (terracota) y Rest (terracota).
1944. Participant of the V Salon of Colombian Artists "Nude" gets a gold medal.
1948. Designs the monument to the Panamerican Flags in the place where the old Techo airport was at

.
1951. Participates in the international contest for posters to go along with the third

Bolivarian Games The Bolivarian Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Bolivarianos'', full name ''Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos'') are a regional multi-sport event held in honor of Simón Bolívar, and organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (''Organización Deporti ...

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. His posters are honored with the first prize and are therefore used as the official game icons.
1952. August 7. Takes part again of the IX Salon of Colombian Artists with the clay sculpture "The Fountain".
1953. July 20. Takes part in the collective exposition in commemoration of the shout of Independence with the sculptures: "The Fountain" and "Nude".
1953 - 1964. Professor of painting and project management at the Faculty of Architecture of the National University.
1955. President of the School of Beaux Arts of the National University of

.
1988. Scultps Bolívar in horse for the central plaza of

Santa Rosa de Cabal Santa Rosa de Cabal is a town and municipality in the Department of Risaralda, Colombia. About 14 km away from the capital Pereira. In 2023 the town had an estimated population of 79,840. History Founded in 1844 when the colonizer Fermín L� ...

, Risaralda,

Style

His sculpture was mainly that of a so-called "academic style" with a strong influence of the typical facial and anatomical features of

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

Colombians with a larger component of

Muisca The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca spe ...

features. This style is easy to recognize in his

muses in the Monument to Pan-American flags. During his early artistic career his role as professor of industrial and decorative painting for the Ministry of Education was quite important and influential. He later taught natural painting, modeling workshops, handicrafts, and comparative anatomy for the School of Beaux Arts at the

, and painting and project presentation for the Faculty of Architecture.

Sculptures

"Rest" and "Life".
Monument to Students ( Gimnasio Moderno,

).
Monument to Chía goddess ( Chía, Cundinamarcabr>

24 bronze reliefs with decorative motifs to the Flags. (The monument to pan-american flags) (Techo,

).
Portrait of Julio Garavito Armero the wise (Sociedad Colombiana de Ingenieros).
Portrait of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan at calle 26 with carrera 17 in Bogota.María Clara Torres and Hugo Delgadillo. ''Bogotá un museo a cielo abierto''. Panamericana Formas e Impresos, 2008, p. 323-325.

Bibliography

*Alirio Gómez Picón: "¿Hay Escultores en

?" "El Tiempo",

, October 8 of 1961.
Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango Info.

External links

Video about the monument to pan-american flags120 Muses, the Banderas monument

Museo Nacional de Colombia, pdf article on nude sculptures in Colombia
* Wikipedia in Spanish Entry for Banderas Monument
Chia Goddess Sculpture at Chia, Cundinamarca

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neira Martinez, Alonso 1913 births 1990 deaths Artists from Bogotá Colombian sculptors Colombian modern sculptors 20th-century Colombian sculptors