Monument to St Francisco Javier

Apparently non figurative in character, it is possible to discover in this sculpture the image of one of the most characteristic iconographies of this Apostle of the Indies. A portrayal of an ecstatic saint, looking up into the sky and opening his cassock covering his torso to reveal his heart. Faustino Aizkorbe is an artist who endeavours to cover all types of materials and techniques, and shares the spirit of the Basque school of sculpture, as shown by that tragic, primary and austere vein in him and perceived by Oteiza, Chillida, Basterrechea and Mendiburu, from whom he has assimilated concepts and techniques. During his artistic career, his facet as a sculptor of public works has taken on particular relevance. His sobriety of composition, the beauty and elegance of design, the forcefulness of the image and the formal perfection in the treatment of the material, all combine to form the dominant notes of a work of sculpture which also displays his investigations into voids and the discovery of the interior space. In 2006, the City Council of Pamplona took part in the commemorative acts marking the 5th Centenary of the birth of St Francisco Javier (Javier, 1506-Sancian, 1552) and commissioned Faustino Aizkorbe to create this work, having already created a number of sculptures of the saint for Yamaguchi (Japan), Sancian (China), Goa (India) and for the locality of Javier itself.

José Javier Azanza