Hands of Julio Antonio

Julio Antonio made a mould of his own hands in order to use them as the hands of the wounded Hero in the Monument als Herois de 1811 in order to make them as realistic as possible.

The sculptor energetically squeezed a piece of uncooked clay to represent the action of clutching some form of dagger with the right hand, and with the left hand part of the robe that is draped over his shoulder. Thanks to this testimony, we learn a little more about the physical side of the scultptor.

“The right hand of Julio Antonio held an invisible and potential universe. Part of it becomes definitive material, having begun as formed clay… It is a strong hand, apt for heroic actions, folded over a piece of clay, as if seizing a weapon”. Ramón Pérez de Ayala