Description

This bust of Juan Facundo de Riaño y Montero, in plaster painted to imitate bronze, was created by the artist Ricardo Bellver in the year of his death. The subject is wearing a jacket, unfastened to show the details of his shirt and waistcoat. At his neck is a bow tie, underneath which hangs a medallion. He presents a determined expression, emphasized by the expressiveness of his face, which bears minute details of every feature and wrinkle thanks to modelling that heightens the chiaroscuro. 

The realism of this piece and its painstaking study of the facial features of the subject that express its psychological depths are unmistakably those of Ricardo Bellver. The artist was awarded the gold medal in the 1878 National Fine Arts Exhibition in Madrid, for his renowned sculpture Ángel Caído (Fallen Angel) (1877). 

In this sculpture of Juan Facundo de Riaño y Montero (1829–1901), we see one of the most interesting figures of 19th C. Spain. The subject was born in Granada,where he studied Humanities and Law. He was awarded the title of Doctor of Law by the then-University of Madrid. During his formative years in Granada, he studied Arabic language and was a member of the literary group, La Cuerda Granadina, known for his unyielding intellectual activity. 

In 1863, he was made Professor of Fine Arts in the School of Diplomatics, Madrid. He combined this role with others, making him one of the key figures of the time in the field of the arts. For example, he was the director of South Kensington Museum in London, from 1870, and of the national Artistic Reproductions Museum in Madrid, from 1873. He was also an Academic in the Royal Academies of History, Language, and Fine Arts of San Fernando, Madrid. In addition, his political and diplomatic activity led him to take on the role of Director-General of Public Education between 1881 and 1883; he was later made Senator of the Province of Granada and, in 1888, Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

His links with the University of Granada are explained in a commemorative plaque on the east wall of the institution’s main library, which reads: "Joannes Facundus Riaño, Benefactor / almae universitatis granatensis / atque donator librorum qui in hoc / pluteo et in aliis asservantur / M.C.M.III."