Marcos Ordozgoiti, una figura polémica de la escultura vasca del siglo XIX

Abstract

Up until now there are few publications that have dealt with 19 th century Basque sculpture and therefore our knowledge of this artistic facet is not yet very profound in that phase, although there is reason to think that it was not an especially buoyant time. One of the most active sculptors in that period was Marcos Ordozgoiti Murua (1824-1875), from Vitoria, who in occasions worked as a mere contractor, which seems to be a practice that was seemingly quite extended among Basque sculptors in the 19 th century. This could perhaps constitute evidence of the precariousness of the sculpture market in that conjuncture. Marcos Ordozgoiti's artistic level was not very brilliant, as is ratified by some of the works that came from his workshop, of which we have knowledge, and the information we have about the rejection of his projects and sketches by the jurors of some of the contests he took part in. However, his work is worth studying in order to get a better grasp of the sculpture panorama from those years.