You are approaching the National Library of Spain, where a limestone statue of the scholar Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo sits in the lobby. Sculpted by Lorenzo Coullaut Valera and unveiled in 1917, the work depicts the man in his later years, seated comfortably in an armchair with a book in his hand. This figure was a titan of Spanish intellectual life who served as the director of this very library. Following his death in 1912, the project was spearheaded by the Junta Central de Acción Católica, an organization he had been deeply involved with. The location was chosen specifically to keep him among the company of Spain's greatest literary figures whose statues already graced the building's entrance, such as Cervantes and Lope de Vega. While there were later attempts to relocate the statue to the gardens outside, the plan was abandoned after officials warned that moving such a delicate piece of limestone could cause permanent damage.
Statue of Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo
monument
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