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Anduli
Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales
ISSN: 1696-0270 • e-ISSN: 2340-4973
EPHEMERAL ARCHITECTURES FOR CELEBRATING
HAPPINESS: SYMBOLIC AND PERSUASIVE VALUES
OF AN ARCHETYPAL EXAMPLE
ARQUITECTURAS EFÍMERAS PARA CELEBRAR
LA FELICIDAD: VALORES SIMBÓLICOS Y
PERSUASIVOS DE UN EJEMPLO ARQUETÍPICO
Antonio-Rafael
Fernández-Paradas
Universidad de Granada
antonioparadas@ugr.es
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3751-7479
Nuria
Rodríguez-Martín
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
nuria.rodriguez.martin@ghis.ucm.es
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0179-7392
Abstract
After more than half a century of war, the
announcement of the end of the Third
Carlist War resulted in a veritable explosion
of happiness and collective euphoria in
Spain at the end of the 19th century. On 20
March 1876, Alfonso XII, nicknamed “The
Peacemaker”, made his triumphal entry into
Madrid. The press of the time described the
event as one of the happiest in the history
of Spain. The aim of this paper is twofold: to
contextualize and analyze the importance
of the festivities and ephemeral decorations
as a reection of the social happiness of the
moment and to analyze the symbolic and
persuasive values of one of the ephemeral
architectures erected for the occasion. As a
nal result, we demonstrate how ephemeral
architecture and festivals were a source
of happiness in the battered Spanish
society of the last third of the 19th century,
generating social welfare and happiness
through art and the nationalist exaltation of
the monarchy
Keywords: Happiness; Collective euphoria;
Festivities; Ephemeral decorations;
Ephemeral architectures; Peace; National
identity.
Resumen
Tras más de medio siglo de conictos béli-
cos, el anuncio del nal de la Tercera Guerra
Carlista supuso una verdadera explosión de
felicidad y euforia colectiva en la España ni-
secular. El 20 de marzo de 1876 se produjo
la entrada triunfal de Alfonso XII, apodado
“el Pacicador”, en Madrid. La prensa de la
época describe el acontecimiento como uno
de los eventos más felices de la historia de
España. El objetivo del presente trabajo es
doble, por un lado, se pretende contextuali-
zar y analizar la importancia que tuvieron las
estas y decoraciones efímeras como reejo
de la felicidad social del momento, y por otro,
analizar los valores simbólicos y persuasivos
de una de las arquitecturas efímeras que se
levantaron para la ocasión. Como resultado
nal se pretende evidenciar como las arqui-
tecturas efímeras y las estas, fueron un
potenciador de la felicidad en la maltrecha
sociedad española del último tercio del siglo
XIX, generando bienestar y felicidad a través
del arte y de la exaltación nacionalista de la
monarquía.
Palabras clave: Felicidad; Euforia colecti-
va; Fiestas; Decoraciones efímeras; Arqui-
tecturas efímeras; Paz; Identidad nacional.
Como citar este artículo/ citation: Fernández-Paradas, Antonio-Rafael y Rodríguez-Martín, Nuria 2023).Ephemeral
Architectures for Celebrating Happiness: Symbolic and Persuasive Values of an Archetypal Example. ANDULI 23
(2023) pp.201-221.http://doi.org/10.12795/anduli.2023.i23.11
Recibido: 03-06-2022. Aceptado: 01-10-2022. Publicado: 10.01.2023. http://doi.org/10.12795/anduli.2023.i23.11
Anduli • Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales Nº 23 - 2023
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1. Introduction
The entry of Alfonso XII into Madrid on 20 March 1876 was not only a nationalist
exaltation of the monarchy (Fernández-Sirvent and Gutierrez LLoret, 2015; San
Narciso 2017; Lario 2003; Andreu-Miralles, 2017; Fernández-Sirvent y Gutirrez-
Lloret, 2022; Mira Abab, 2016) in whom the values of the fatherland and the state
were embodied, but also entailed the consolidation of his gure as the central axis of
national politics (La Parra López 2011; Mansel, 2012). Although the restoration of the
House of Bourbon on 29 December 1874 returned the throne to the Bourbons, some
momentous event was needed to show that the choice had been the right one, thus
dispelling any doubts about the restoration of the royal lineage (Cuesta García de
Leonardo, 1995). The events came in little more than a year. On 27 February 1876 it
was announced that the Third Carlist War had ended thanks to the decisive role of the
king and the northern army. In this way, Alfonso XII, nicknamed “The Peacemaker”,
cleared away any reticence (Fernández-Sirvent, 2010). Thus, Alfonso XII, nicknamed
“The Peacemaker”, dispelled any doubts about his installation on the throne and the
wisdom of his choice (Fernández-Sirvent, 2014; 2019). Regarding the importance of
this event, beyond the military cause, Fernández-Sirvent has pointed out that “on 28
February 1876, Alfonso XII and his armies entered Pamplona, while the pretender
Carlos de Borbón went into exile, and on 2 March they entered Estella, thus bringing
the war to a close: the ‘soldier king’ had been ‘crowned’ for the second time, on
this occasion in the symbolic and legitimising sense of the expression” (Fernández-
Sirvent, 2010, p. 56).
The above situation (Luengo Sánchez, 2013: 13) must be understood in the
context of what Van Osta dened in 2006 as “stage monarchies”, a phenomenon
that occurred in most European kingdoms between 1870 and 1914 (Osta, 2006)1
and through which the monarchy and the reigning monarch became the basis of
the nationalism of the states, instrumentalising all kinds of rites, ceremonies and
representations in the service of the monarch (Ordiña Gil, 2021), under the idea of
the personication of the nation in his person (Peir, 2022). This phenomenon can be
found in countries such as England, where the conguration of the ideology of national
identity was circumscribed to the monarchy. In this sense, Fernández-Sirvent points
out (Fernández-Sirvent, 2010; 2011a; 2011b; 2014) that in relation to the nationalist
exaltation that the inauguration of the monument to Alfonso XII in the Buen Retiro
Park in Madrid entailed, it is worth noted that
The promoters of this campaign used the popularity enjoyed by the late king to forge
in the collective imagination a white legend around Alfonso XII, the Peacemaker -
and by extension, what his reign meant for a “return to normality” - which was not
difcult since much of this work had already been done with some success during
his brief reign (Fernández-Sirvent, 2019, p. 96).
1 For a contextualisation of the phenomenon of Court Studies in Spain, see: (Rivero Rodríguez,
2012); (Vázquez Gestal, 2003). San Narciso Martín, for his part, carries out an in-depth bibliogra-
phical review of court studies relating to the 19th century, including both European and Spanish
festivities and ceremonials. (San Narciso Martín, 2014). As propulsive studies for the approach to
nineteenth-century festivities, see: (Ozouf, 1976); (Palmer, 1997); (Waquet, 1981).
Artículos • Antonio-Rafael Fernández Paradas, Nuria Rodríguez Martín
• 203 •
Fig. 1. Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz. Alfonso XII. 1886. Oil on canvas. Madrid.
Source: Museo del Prado.
The end of the Third Carlist War was the right moment for the monarchy to make
a careful public presentation of the king (San Narciso Martín, 2014). To do so, it
took the necessary time. Not in vain, the event had to be one of the most important
historical events that the people had seen and one of those that would last longest in
the memory (Ravina, et al, 2021), and the king’s entry into Madrid was to take place
on 20 March 1876 (Perrin-Saminadayar, 2006). Here they learned from the mistakes
of the previous year, where the lack of time and economic resources (Ravina, et
al, 2019) conditioned the festivities held on the occasion of the king’s entry after
his enthronement (Cuesta Marina, 2000). Moreover, in 1876, the economic situation
was much healthier than the previous year (La Ilustración Española y Americana, 15
March 1876) . In this regard, Cuesta Marina mentions for the events of 1875 that,
It was the lack of time, together with the fact that the exact date of the king’s
arrival in Madrid was unknown. Added to this was a bureaucratic difculty: due
to its recent formation, the City Council had to appoint the new members of all
the commissions, which were nally constituted on 11 January. Finally, the
biggest obstacle was nancial. After the six turbulent years of the Revolutionary
Sexenio, the municipal coffers throughout the country had very limited funds, so
the Government prohibited the Town Councils and Provincial Councils from using
these funds for the organisation of these royal festivities. The Provincial Councils
and Town Councils therefore decided to restrict their role as organisers of the
festivities; they were responsible for drawing up the programme of events, as
well as organising parades and military and ofcial festivities, they would simply
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decorate their ofcial buildings and dedicate part of their funds to charity (...) The
Government of the Nation, through the person of the Marquis of Molins, entrusted
the Madrid nobility with the leading role in the organisation of the festivities (Cuesta
Marina, 2000,pp. 360-361).
In relation to the royal entrances, Escalera Pérez notes that “the kings of all ages
have been received by decorated cities and innumerable spectacles whose sole
purpose was not only to entertain them, but to exalt their glory and the greatness of
the monarch” (Escalera Pérez, 2022, p.40).
For the occasion, although the three public holidays were declared throughout the
kingdom, Madrid (Villacorta Baños, 1985; 1993; 1997; 2004), as the capital of the
country and seat of the Court (Álvaro-Osorio 1991; Váquez Gestal, 2003; 2005),
became the epicentre of the esta and of the nationalist exaltation of the monarchy
(Corbin, 1994). For such a great event, the different institutions of the city, both public
and private, organised an extensive programme of events that included concerts,
bullghts, theatrical performances, parades, receptions, etc. Unlike the previous year,
with the entry of the monarch on the occasion of the Restoration, where the burden of
decorations and activities fell on the nobility, in 1876, it was the Municipal Corporation
that orchestrated the ofcial events and the king’s entry itself.
Of all the decorations and architecture erected for those days, this research will focus
on the arch erected in Alcalá Street by the Ladies of the Association for the Relief of
the Wounded in Campaign [g. 1]. Our aim is to analyse the symbolic, persuasive and
iconographic roles (Fernández-Sirvent, 2010; 2011a; 2011b; 2014; 2015; 2019) that
were given to such a great work.
2. Methodology, sources and delimitation of the object of
study
For the conguration of the work, a research methodology has been applied at different
levels. The starting point was an extensive and specialised bibliographical survey
which allowed us to develop the theoretical framework and establish the state of the
art of royal festivals and entries in the 19th century. The research was meticulous
about the festivals and royal entries of Isabella II, Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII (San
Narciso, 2014). The bibliographic analysis has also made us aware of the lack of
detailed references to the grandiose festivities that took place in Madrid, and the rest
of Spain, on the occasion of the end of the Third Carlist War and the solemn entry
of the King on 20 March 1876 and the three public holidays decreed (Rivero, 2012).
Once the phenomenon had been contextualised in the bibliography, we searched
for and analysed historical sources. The Archivo General de Palacio and the Archivo
Histórico de la Villa de Madrid were consulted. The Town Council’s minute books
emptied in the latter, and the Secretariat and Accountant’s Ofce funds consult.
Subsequently, the Gaceta de Madrid was analysed, one of the primary sources that
we have been able to consult, as it offers many information and details.
One of the most extensive parts of the search for information that we have
carried out has been the complete emptying of 13 newspapers of the period (La
Correspondencia, Boletín del Comercio, Diario de la Familia de Avisos, La Ilustración
Española y Americana, El Globo, El Pabellón, La Idea, Diario Ocial de Avisos de
Madrid, La Época, El Imparcial, La Iberia, El pueblo Español, El Solfeo).It is clear that
Artículos • Antonio-Rafael Fernández Paradas, Nuria Rodríguez Martín
• 205 •
many of them merely reproduce literally or in a more abbreviate form what it says in
other newspapers. However, the overall view of the press analysed offers essential
details that may seem irrelevant but which, when checked against each other, are
essential for drawing up historical knowledge. Regarding the importance of the press
as a historical source for dealing with nineteenth-century festivals, Escalera Pérez
mentions that “if the “Relaciones” immortalised the ephemeral in past centuries, in
the nineteenth century the press was added to give an account of these events, a
medium that coexisted with the local or ofcial chronicles that described the royal
events” (Escalera Pérez, 2011, p. 83).
3. Results. Festivals and ephemeral decorations as happiness
enhancers in late nineteenth century spain.
The rst reference by the Madrid municipal council (San Narciso, 2014) to the need
to start organising the festivities can be found in the ordinary session of 21 February
1816, when
Mr. Hernández stated that he was rising to take the initiative on a matter of relative
importance, and that he believed that the Town Council would unanimously approve
the proposal that was going to be made.
He added that we were at a time when the nation was celebrating with jubilation
and rejoicing the triumphs of the army in the northern provinces, which presaged
the conclusion of the war that was annihilating the life of this country into the not
too distant future. That the event was of immense importance, as everyone had
recognised, and the neighbourhood of the capital had demonstrated it by lighting
up and hanging on the news, with a spontaneity of which there was no example in
history2.
This session of the Town Council was particularly important (Prado Higuera, 1999;
2012; 2019), as it not only urged the municipal corporation to take the reins of the
matter and start working on the planning and management of the events, but it was
also the moment when several budget proposals were presented, which were nally
declined due to the lack of clarifying reports from the commissions for festivities
and shows, “agreeing to the immediate meeting of the Budget and Festivities
Commissions to study the matter and propose as a result whatever was offered and
seemed appropriate”3. Just two days later, on 23 February, the session continued on
the 21st, now with the reports of both committees on the table4. Having heard the
reports of both commissions, it was approved the
The Committee proposes that you agree to the inclusion of this item in the
extraordinary budget and authorise the Shows Commission, under the chairmanship
of the Honourable Mr5.
After the nal approval of the budget on 23 February, it was not until 6 March 1876
that the Marquis of Perijáa read the programme of activities proposed by the festivities
2 Minute Book, session of 21 February 1876, Archivo de la Villa de Madrid (AVM), p. 151-154.
3 Minute book, session of 21 February 1876, (AVM) pp. 151-154.
4 Minute book, continuation of the session of 21 February 1876. 23 February 1876, (AVM), pp.
162-163.
5 Minutes book, continuation of the session of 21 February 1876. On 23 February 1876, (AVM), pp.
162-163.
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commission6. It is interesting to note that although this commission reported to the town
council on 6 March, the poster announcing the events was dated 29 February 18767.
With regard to the programme of festivities, the layout of the events was reected in
the minutes of the Town Council itself8, the poster, the Gaceta de Madrid and in several
newspapers. In summary, these were the main events that took place during the three
days of festivities: the king arrived in the capital on 19 March, settled in the Amaniel
camp and spent the day before the big day with his soldiers. During the course of the
19th, a massive campaign mass [g. 2] was held in the meadow of Amaniel (Madrid
Gazette, 15 March 1876. Parte Ocial). For the rest of the day, a visit to the camp was
an obligatory destination for locals and foreigners alike. It should be borne in mind
that, from this point onwards, the ofcially scheduled events were intermingled with the
multitude of activities that took place throughout the 20th and the following days. The
press at the time reported on how complicated it was to give an account of everything
that was going on in the city (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 21
March 1876). At 10 a.m. on 20 March, the 26,000 men who followed Alfonso XII began
to take up their posts. An hour later, the parade began (Madrid Gazette, 15 March
1876. Parte Ocial). At around 12 noon, a Te Deum was held in the Basilica of Atocha.
The procession disbanded at 4:30 p.m., when the King retired to rest at the Palacio de
Oriente (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 21 March 1876). In the
evening, as mentioned in the programme of festivities, there was reworks display and
a private party in the garden of the Plaza de Oriente (El Imparcial, 19 March 1876). A
day later, the ofcial reception by the monarch at the Royal Palace in Madrid for the
commissions from all corners of the kingdom took place. On the 22nd, a bullght was
held (Madrid Gazette, 15 March 1876. Unofcial part. Interior). Finally, among other
events, on the evening of the 23rd, Manuel María Santana, owner of the newspaper
La Correspondencia de España, held an important reception with the most important
members of Madrid society at the Palacio de Abrantes.
Figure 2. Jean Laurent. Mass at the Amaniel camp.19 de marzo 1876.
Photograph. Source: Archivo Ruiz Vernacci, D.G. Bellas Artes.
6 Minute book, secret session of 6 March 1876, (AVM), p. 200.
7 Programme of events, 1876, (AVM), Public entertainments (Volumes XVIII-XXI), Secretariat, Ro-
yal celebrations (1832-1894) XX.
8 Programa de actos, 1876, Archivo Histórico de la Villa de Madrid (AHVM), Diversiones públicas
(Tomos XVIII-XXI), Secretaría, Festejos reales (1832-1894) XX.
Artículos • Antonio-Rafael Fernández Paradas, Nuria Rodríguez Martín
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4. Alcalá street and its surroundings, epicentres of collective
happiness
There were several points along the route taken by the royal procession that stood
out for their importance. One of them was the area around the street9 and Puerta de
Alcalá, which were also highlighted by the ephemeral arch erected for the occasion.
Of the decorated buildings, the Ministry of Finance was particularly important, which
“threw up an innity of owers and poetry from all its balconies, all originals by the
distinguished poets who have ofcial positions there, the crossing of Calle Peligros
and Calle Sevilla was majestic, and in the Presidency, where the government, the
entire diplomatic corps and a multitude of ladies of our aristocracy were located,
the enthusiasm bordered on frenzy” (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de
Madrid, 21 March 1876).
Although overshadowed by the ephemeral arch erected in Calle Alcalá, the Puerta de
Alcalá [g. 3] was one of the most outstanding monuments among those decorated
for the festivities. The monument was illuminated by gas in the following way: “the
columns covered laterally, as well as the cornices, with lines of lights: on the central
arch the sign A S. M. el rey Alfonso XII; on the right-hand arch Al ejército, the coats
of arms, weapons and trophies that crown the arch are also covered with streams of
lights”, “From calle de Alcalá, the monument was illuminated with gas”, “From calle
de Alcalá, the columns and the cornices were illuminated with lines of lights”. (El
Imparcial, 19 March 1876). From the Calle de Alcalá the majestic monument offered
such a dazzling effect that it would be difcult to explain” (Diario de las Familias de
Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 21 March 1876).
We have data on the price of the machine that was installed to illuminate the Puerta
de Alcalá and the cost of maintenance. The devices entailed an investment of 40,000
reales, at a cost of 4,000 reales for each night they were lit. The documentation of
the time does not clarify who paid for these expenses, whether it was the municipal
corporation or another institution (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de
Madrid, 18 March 1876).
5. Ephemeral architecture to celebrate the peace and
happiness of the spanish people. The arch of calle Alcalá
Consultation of the historical press has provided us with interesting data on the
promoters of the project and its designer, information that was hitherto unknown.
Of the large number of newspapers consulted, only three include a description
of the arch in Calle Alcalá10. To these must be added a small note that appeared
in La Gaceta de Madrid on 19 March, in the Parte no Ocial (unofcial part). Of
these four documents, only two newspapers (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y
Noticias de Madrid, 20 March 1876 and La Ilustración Española y Americana, 30
March 1876) and La Gaceta de Madrid mention the name of the promoters of the
9 “At the moment when the troops began to pass through Calle de Alcalá, thehangings of the
second oor, no. 22, were set on re”. Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 21
March 1876.
10 These are: El Imparcial, 19 March 1876; Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 20
March 1876 and La Ilustración Española y Americana, 30 March 1876. Of the four descriptions
preserved, the one in the Diario de las Familias is the most extensive, although the other three
help to complete the symbolic-iconographic reality of the arch.
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ephemeral architecture. The day before the king’s entry, on 19 March, La Gaceta
de Madrid reported that the arch in Calle Alcalá had been completed and that it
had been “erected by the ladies of the Asociación para Socorro de los Heridos en
Campaña” (Association for the Relief of the Wounded in Campaign11). The other two
newspapers, likewise, provided the information, but made no further clarication on
the matter12.
If we begin with the cost of the work, thanks to the Report published by the Ladies’
Association of Madrid for the year 1876, we know that the “arches and other festivities
that have taken place, both to celebrate the proclamation and coming of His Majesty
the King and his entry into Madrid with the army after making peace, have cost
125,625 reales and 48 cents”, which is equivalent to 31,406.37 pesetas between the
two arches and the two arches (Memoria de la Asociación de Señoras… 1876. p, 20)
which is equivalent to 31,406.37 pesetas between the two arches. The exact price of
the arch erected by the municipal corporation in Calle Mayor, next to the Plaza de la
Villa, was 17,500 pesetas13. The structure of the 1876 arch is practically identical to
that of the 1875 arch, which meant that the base of the former could be reused for the
latter, investing a greater amount of money in the decorative programme. It should be
remembered that the Town Hall arch lacked gas decoration, while the arch in Calle
Alcalá had a large set of electric lights.
The arch in Calle Alcalá, promoted by the Ladies of the Association for the Relief of
the Wounded in Campaign, according to the press of the time, was designed14 one
of the leading architects of n-de-siècle Madrid, Francisco de Cubas y González-
Montes (1826-1899), Marquis of Cubas15, the so-called ‘ofcial architect’ of Madrid’s
aristocracy” (Navascués Palacio, 1973). Of the four sources that speak specically
about the Alcalá arch, only two of them give details of the designer of the complex.
The rst, El Imparcial, which in its edition of 19 March 1876 mentions that “This arch is
built under the direction of the architect Mr. Cubas” (El Imparcial, 19 March 1876). And
the second, on Monday 20 March in the Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias
11 La Gaceta de Madrid, 19 March 1876- Unofcial part. Interior. The Asociación para Socorro de
los Heridos en Campaña was the “Sección Central de Señoras” in Madrid of the International Red
Cross. See: Memoria de los actos de la Sección Central de Señoras de la Cruz-Roja en Madrid
desde su creación hasta el n de la Guerra Civil. Pamplona: Imprenta de Joaquín Lorda, 1879.
In the 1876 report, it is specied that “The Association created for the relief of the wounded in the
campaign has been dissolved after the civil war has ended happily, and the needs and reasons
for its existence have ceased”. (Anónimo, 1876: 5).
12 On the promoters, see: (Pasquale, 1891: 424). The quotation refers to the Spanish section of the
International Red Cross.
13 “The arch of the Plaza de la Villa does not cost 5,000 duros, as has been said, but 3,500”. Diario
de las familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid in its newsreel of Saturday 18 March 1876. The
total budget of the Municipal Corporation was 100,000 pesetas. Archivo de la Villa de Madrid.
Libro de actas, session of 21 February 1876, pp. 162-163.
14 This Association paid for the arch that was erected in the same place on 14 January 1875. The
work was directed by the Marquis of Cubas and “seconded by the quantity surveyor Lucas Mar-
tín” (El Imparcial, 15 February 1875). According to the press of the time, the Marquis of Cubas
would once again design for the Association the arch through which the King would pass on his
entry into Madrid on 20 March 1876. The structural similarity between the two pieces leads us to
think that for the 1876 arch the structure of the previous year was reused, with the iconographic
programme of the twelve Alfonso’s on top of it.
15 It is a title of nobility owned by the Vatican, which was assigned to Francisco de Cubas on 30 April
1886.
Artículos • Antonio-Rafael Fernández Paradas, Nuria Rodríguez Martín
• 209 •
de Madrid, which praises the choice of the Marquis of Cubas as the designer of the
complex,
Having made this brief description, it only remains for us to state that, in our opinion,
apart from the beautiful proportions that everyone applauds and the exquisite taste
that has presided in its ornamentation, this monument has very notable aesthetic
characteristics, which would be enough to accredit a professor, if the architect Mr.
Cubas, who conceived and directed it, had not already established his reputation
on a solid base (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 20 March
1876).
The gure of the Marquis of Cubas must be understood, in the context of 19th-century
Spanish architecture, as an outstanding chronicler of the ways of doing and thinking in
the years of the reign of Isabella II and his son Alfonso XII. Navascués mentions that
“many were the architects who worked in Madrid during the last century. However, few
were as signicant as Francisco de Cubas y González-Montes” (Navascués, 1972).
For his ephemeral architecture, he opted for a classicist tendency16. The question of
the style of the arch is of great interest, rstly, because the designer sought to create
a work totally different in appearance to the arch erected by the Town Hall in Calle
Mayor [g. 4], which was designed in the Mudejar style17. Secondly, Cubas’s design
is part of the architect’s Italianate phase (Navascués, 1973), (Prieto González, 2007).
In this sense, Navascués mentions that
The abundant work of the architect Cubas has two well-dened aspects which
correspond to two different aesthetics and two different periods. On the one hand,
his architecture assimilates the Italianate and tardo neoclassical style learned
from Pascual and Colomer and, on the other hand, his religious buildings translate
clearly neo-Gothic forms that are equally reminiscent of the English Gothic revival
and Viollet-le-Duc-style neo-medievalism (Navascués, 1972).
The same author mentions that the Italianate and late-Classical phase of the Marquis
of Cubas (Navascués, 1972, p. 2) corresponds to the reign of Isabel II, while the
Neo-Gothic phase coincides with the restoration of Alfonso XII. It should be noted
that in the early years of the reign of Alfonso XII the Italianate style in Cubas’s work
was in full force. It is not in vain that in 1875 another of his most important works, the
Museo Antropológico (National Museum of Anthropology), with a markedly classical
tendency, was inaugurated, as was the palace of Fuente Nueva, owned by Benito
Arenzana, in 1876, and in the same year he designed the arch of Calle de Alcalá.
5.1. Electricity and lights to make us happier. An ephemeral arch advanced for
its time
The sun was jealous of the night and denied the day its golden rays and warmth.
But Madrid lit up all its suns in mockery of the day. The stone monuments were
illuminated: the electric light lowered the eyes of those who dared to look from face
to face; its rays, projecting over the crowded people, made fantastic effects of light
and colour, determined whimsical silhouettes. If we lacked the desired sunlight,
which illuminates the freckles and does not have the gallantry to conceal any
defect, on the other hand, in the mysterious articial light all the women seemed
16 El Imparcial, 19 March 1876 and La Ilustración Española y Americana, 30 March 1876 specically
mention that the arch is in the Renaissance style.
17 La Gaceta de Madrid 18 March 1876. Unofcial part. Interior and Diario de las familias de Avisos
y Noticias de Madrid, 18 March 1876. Several period images have been preserved.
Anduli • Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales Nº 23 - 2023
• 210 •
beautiful and the men graceful. Oh, triumph of the gas! In its glow, the Councils’
house looked as if it had just been made (La Ilustración Española y Americana, 22
March 1876).
In this graphic way, La Ilustración Española y Americana dened the important role
played by the illuminations in the decorations erected in Madrid to mark the end of
the Third Carlist War. In relation to the ephemeral architecture that is the subject of
this study, we have several reports: the rst, from the day of the king’s entry, mentions
that “such a magnicent arch will be illuminated by two electric lights, one placed in
the Ministry of Finance and the other in the presidency of the Council of Ministers”
(Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 20 March 1876). The second is
from the following day, when it says that “An electric light will be placed on the facade
of the same ministry, whose reections will illuminate the magnicent triumphal arch
paid for by the Ladies’ Association” (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de
Madrid, 21 March 1876).
The allusion to the illumination of the Puerta de Alcalá arch, although at rst sight it
seems anecdotal, if we analyse it in depth, was a relevant event, (Arroyo, 2002) for
the time for several reasons. Firstly, there were only seven buildings in Madrid18that
were decorated with electricity-based lighting, and one of them was precisely our
ephemeral arch. The buildings illuminated and decorated with electricity were the
Natural History Building (El Imparcial, 19 March 1876); the Ministry of War (Diario de
las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 18 March 1876). the Ministry of Public
Works, which featured electricity decorations on both the fence (Diario de las Familias
de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 19 March 1876) and the façade (La Gaceta de Madrid.
19 March 1876- Unofcial part. Inside); the Ministry of Finance (Diario de las Familias
de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 21 March 1876); the Palace of the Presidency (Diario
de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 21 March 1876); the Arch of Calle
Alcalá (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 20 March 1876); and
the San Gil Barracks (El Imparcial, 19 March 1876). Secondly, it is worth remembering
that the arch erected by the municipal corporation in Calle Mayor next to the Plaza de
la Villa lacked lighting, so the arch in Calle Alcalá must have attracted a great deal of
attention from the locals and thousands of foreigners who came to the capital. Thirdly,
and quite importantly, the use of electricity in the capital at that time was a rarity.
Although the rst electric light, by means of a photovoltaic arc, was installed in Madrid
in the Plaza de Armas de Palacio in 1852 (García de la Infanta, 1986; 1987), the
reality was that from this date until the 1980s, illuminations and decorations based on
electricity were minimal, and almost always related to events related to the Crown. It
was not until 1878 that the rst attempt was made to use electricity for public lighting,
in this case for the wedding of Alfonso XII and María de las Mercedes, but it was not
until well into the following decade that there were new attempts to use electricity
for lighting in the city (Cayón García, 2017; Fernández Paradas y Rodriguez Martín,
2017). Fourthly, it should be borne in mind that the Crown and the various Spanish
monarchs and regents of the 19th century took control of and used gas and electricity
for public lighting throughout the 19th century. It was a good way of showing that the
monarchs were modern and that they wanted modern cities (García Delgado, 1992),
on a par with the main cities of Europe. From Ferdinand VII to Alfonso XIII, there was
no royal event or important celebration where gas or electric lighting did not play a
prominent role (Fàbregas, 1993).
18 There were 19 buildings that were decorated with gas. In total, 8 buildings belonging to ofcial
bodies (3 of which were ministries), 1 public monument, 1 museum and 1 theatre, 5 palaces, 1
embassy, 1 café and 1 commercial establishment.
Artículos • Antonio-Rafael Fernández Paradas, Nuria Rodríguez Martín
• 211 •
With Ferdinand VII we nd the rst examples of the use of gas in connection with
celebrations related to the Crown (Simón Palmer, 1984). To celebrate the birth of their
second daughter, the birth of his second daughter, on 30 January 1832, several gas
illuminations were set up in different parts of Madrid (Simón Palmer, 2011).
The following year, on the occasion of the swearing-in of Isabella II as heir to the
House of Bourbon, the area around the Royal Palace was illuminated with gas. Years
later, in 1875, coinciding with the restoration of the Bourbons (Espadas Burgos, 1981)
to the throne, an event of singular transcendence in the history of illuminations took
place, (García de la Infanta, 1987) as electricity began to coexist with gas in public
and private festive spaces. In that year, we have evidence of two spaces illuminated
with electric light: one in the Ministry of the Interior, where “an electric light turned on
in the clock turret directed bright rays of lightning to the Puerta del Sol fountain, and
another in Calle Alcalá, next to Calle Peligros, where a large electric arc was installed
for the relief of the wounded in the campaign” (Guerrero Fernández, 2009). This
situation continued until the rst decades of the 20th century, when gas and electric
lighting was used in public celebrations of the Crown (Guerrero Fernández, 2009).
5.2. The kings who brought happiness to Spain: iconography and symbolic
values reected in the arch of Alcalá Street
Once we have analysed the setting, the promoters, the author, and the importance
of electricity in the ensemble, it is necessary to approach the symbolic universe19
and the complex royal iconography developed in the arch20. Of the four chronicles
we have preserved relating to the arch, the most extensive and detailed is that of the
Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, in its edition of 20 March 1876,
that is, the day of the king’s entry into the Court. Not only does it describe the arch in
detail, but it also identies and locates exactly each and every one of the iconographic
elements arranged along the two fronts of the ensemble, giving a good account of
the royal message that was intended [g. 5]. The description in El Imparcial of 19
March, although shorter than the previous one, reects the information in a more
cursory manner, without going into the identication of the gures in any depth. At the
end of March 1876, La Ilustración Española y Americana, specically on 30 March,
included a brief review of the arch in its news items. It was a brief commentary, but
very important, as it was the only publication to illustrate the text with an engraving.
From the point of view of measurements, the Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias
de Madrid, 20 March, gives the following data: “This monument is forty-seven feet wide
in front by more than seventy feet high and its depth is nine feet; the arch in the centre
is twenty-two feet wide, and from the pavement to the keystone it measures thirty-four
feet; the statues have a height of nine and a half feet”. For its part, El Imparcial, 19
March, says that “it is in the Renaissance style, presenting a total mass of 18 metres,
18.5 metres high, and 2.50 metres deep, with the break being 6 metres wide and
more than 9 metres high up to the keystone” (El Imparcial, 19 March 1876). Finally, La
Ilustración Española y Americana, on 30 March 1876, states that the arch measures
12 metres wide and 18.50 metres high, by two metres deep. Due to the richness of the
19 For further information on the construction of the symbolic image of Alfonso XII, see: (Fernández-
Sirvent y Gutirrez-Lloret, 2015). These authors provide important documentation on the constitutio-
nal image of Alfonso XII. For his part, Fernández-Sirvent has published several works on the image
and legitimisation of the reign of Alfonso XII, see: (Fernández-Sirvent, 2010, 2001, 2014, 2015,
2019.
20 Azanza López has analysed the symbolic culture of the 19th century. (Azanza López, 2011a,
2011b, 2002, 2011, 2013).
Anduli • Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales Nº 23 - 2023
• 212 •
description offered by the Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, in its
edition of 20 March, we have reproduced the newspaper’s description in full:
It rests on two strong abutments, in which four niches have been built to house four
colossal statues representing the four Cardinal Virtues. It begins with a sturdy plinth
of cushioned ashlar masonry on which 16 columns rest, supporting the cornice.
The attic is nished by semicircular pediments, the two in the centre are crowned
by four fames supported by the coat of arms of Spain and the royal crown, the other
six are nished with ornaments in the same style and 16 candelabras separate
these pediments. Of the four statues representing the cardinal virtues, the two
facing the Puerta del Sol symbolise Fortitude and Justice, while those of Prudence
and Temperance are on the façade facing the Puerta de Alcalá.
In the space between the niches and the collar of the capitals, four medallions
surrounded by ornaments have been placed, representing the one above the
Fortress, Don Alfonso III, the Great; above Justice, D. Alfonso IV, the Monk; above
Prudence, D. Fernando IV, the Placed; and above Temperance, D. Alfonso VI the
Brave. In the spandrels of the arch are D. Fernando and D.ª Isabel I on the facade
facing the Puerta del Sol, and Felipe V and Carlos III on the opposite facade. In
the space between the columns, whose eurons are formed with eur-de-lis, laurel
wreaths have been depicted and in the squares between the columns on the sides,
ornaments of the best taste, as well as on the inside of the arch and on the plinth,
with the coats of arms of Castile and León surrounded by attributes. The soft of
the arch is encased with strong eurons and the archivolt, and the spaces of the
spandrels are decorated with ornamentation. The cornice, composed of architrave,
frieze, and cornice, is carved and in the centre of the frieze, on each of the facades
respectively, the busts of Pelayo and Recaredo are surrounded by ornamentation.
The attic is raised on a plinth and in the central part of the entablature is the
commemorative inscription: To King Alfonso XII, peacemaker of Spain, the ladies
of the Association for the relief of the wounded and disabled of the army.
In the spaces between the pilasters placed plumb with the columns are the busts of
Alfonso I, the Catholic, and Alfonso II, the Chaste, on the façade facing the Puerta
del Sol; and Alfonso V, the Noble, Alfonso VIII, the Navas, on the one facing the
Puerta de Alcalá; those of Alfonso IX and Alfonso XI are respectively on the sides
facing the streets of Seville and Peligros, between the coats of arms of the ancient
kingdoms. The circular pediment on the façade facing the Puerta del Sol has Spain
between Peace and Concord on its pediment, and on the one on the opposite
façade is D. Alfonso X, the Wise, between Science and Legislation, ending, as
we have said, with Famas, coats of arms and crowns; the small semicircular
pediments, which correspond to the space between the columns, have the gures
of Alfonso XII in the centre21.
21 Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 20 March 1876.
Artículos • Antonio-Rafael Fernández Paradas, Nuria Rodríguez Martín
• 213 •
Fig. 3. Jean Laurent. Arch of Calle Alcalá. 1876
Photograph. Source: San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts Museum).
Before analysing the iconographic programme developed on the faces of the arch, it is
necessary to contextualise, from the point of view of the symbolic values attributed to
Alfonso XII, the commemorative inscription on the ensemble, which reads as follows:
To King Alfonso XII, peacemaker of Spain, the ladies of the Association for the relief
of the wounded and disabled of the army. It is worth mentioning that between 1874
and 1877 the image of the king was based on three basic pillars: a Catholic king, a
constitutional king, and a soldier. With regard to the latter, Alfonso XII received military
training at the British Sandhurst Academy, one of the most prestigious institutions
of the time. This training gave him “sufcient authority to keep the generalate under
his subordination with the clear aim of putting an end to the scourge of military
pronouncements” (Fernández-Sirvent, 2014: 112). Fernández-Sirvent mentions
that, after the restoration of the Monarchy and the end of the Third Carlist War, the
image of the military king was complemented by other values such as charity and
the capacity for conciliation. Specically, after the victory in the Third Carlist War, the
inscriptions placed on the ephemeral architectures “clearly sought the transmutation
of a legitimising image of ‘soldier king’ to an even more popular and favourable one:
that of “peacemaker of the monarchy” (Fernández–Sirvent, 2014). The question of
the idea of Alfonso XII as “peacemaker” was a recurring theme in various architectural
Anduli • Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales Nº 23 - 2023
• 214 •
and decorative ephemera created to mark the end of the Third Carlist War22 and
the monarch’s entry into Madrid on 20 December 1876. Among the monuments that
alluded to this issue, we can mention the following. The following inscription was
placed in Madrid City Hall: “To H.M. King Alfonso XII the Peacemaker” (El Imparcial,
19 March 1876). For its part, the Civil Government mentioned “Viva el rey D. Alfonso
XII” (“Long live King Alfonso XII”) (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias, 18
March 1876). After the King’s arrival at the Colegio de San Carlos, the dean, Mr.
Calleja, offered the monarch a silver crown with the following inscription: “To H.M. the
King, peacemaker of Spain, the Faculty of Medicine”(Diario de las Familias de Avisos
y Noticias de Madrid, 21 March 1876). On the arch of Calle D. Pedro, an inscription
was placed reading “Barrio de Don Pedro, a los Pacicadores”(Diario de las Familias
de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, 21 March 1876). The following inscription was placed
on the house of Rafael Cabezas: “Long live the constitutional king, supreme chief
of the army, peacemaker of Spain, Alfonso XII” (Diario de las Familias de Avisos y
Noticias de Madrid, 21 March 1876). Finally, in the palace of Mr. Indo, the slogan
“Alfonso XII the peacemaker” was placed (El Imparcial, 19 March 1876).
With regard to the iconographic programme described above, it is interesting to
note Escalera Pérez’s reection on the relations that monarchs establish with those
who preceded them: “it is common, as in other periods, for monarchs to compare
themselves with their ancestors, assimilating their virtues and equating their heroic
deeds” (Escalera Pérez, 2011). Related to this question of equating the monarch with
his predecessors, it was a common resource in festivals and ephemeral decorations.
Along these lines, García Bernal points out that:
The obelisk erected in Seville for the proclamation of Ferdinand VI in 1746 is a
continuation of this historicist tradition, reinvented by the Bourbons on the basis
of new values of administrative efciency and civic probity. The drawing is by
Pedro Tortolero and connects the life of the new hero with the ancient deeds of the
Castilian kings. A similar approach can be found in the homage paid by the city of
Jaén to the sixth of the Fernandos (García Bernál, 2007).
The Alcalá Street arch was congured on the basis of an iconographic programme
that placed Alfonso XII23 as the heir to the greatness of the kings who bore his name
and others who had a singular transcendence in the history of the kingdoms of Spain,
22 On the question of the conguration of the Peacemaker myth in the person of Alfonso XII, Fer-
nández-Sirvent has shown that the king, shortly before the end of the Third Carlist War, on an
intermediate trip to the capital, on his way through Logroño “visited the elderly General Espartero,
Duke of Victory, Prince of Vergara and former regent of the kingdom (...). The idea was to repre-
sent a kind of “passing of the baton”, since it was the veteran “peacemaker” Baldomero Espartero
who signed the Vergara Agreement (1839), which put an end to the rst of the Carlist wars”.
(Fernández-Sirvent, 2010: 55).
23 Bravo Nieto makes an important reection on the name chosen by Isabella II for her son, Alfonso
XII. The symbols during this period in many other respects are not ingenious, and the very name
of the queen’s rst son, Alfonso, is not unrelated to the Catholic queen’s brother who did not
reign”. The idea of the “Alfonsos”, although it was not fully developed, was already present in the
arch which the Ladies of the Association had erected the year before on the occasion of the res-
toration of Alfonso XII, where an inscription was placed which read: “All the Alfonsos have been,
either wise legislators or exalted captains, to our august sovereign Alfonso XII”. El Imparcial, 15
February 1875. (Bravo Nieto, 2012: 363). The brother of Isabella the Catholic disputed the Crown
against his brother Henry IV, under the name of Alfonso XII, a title that would fall to our monarch
in the 19th century. Just as Alfonso the Innocent claimed to be the legitimate heir to the Crown of
Castile, the 19th century Alfonso XII claimed his role as the true monarch of Spain, making the old
territorial question his own.
Artículos • Antonio-Rafael Fernández Paradas, Nuria Rodríguez Martín
• 215 •
emphasising the comparison of the old kingdoms of Spain with the new kingdoms.
The iconographic programme is carefully designed so that the data presented offer a
clear and precise idea and t together, even including historical corrections to delimit
the idea that is to be offered. Up to 18 kings are represented throughout the collection:
Alfonso I, Alfonso I, Alfonso III, Alfonso IV, Alfonso V, Alfonso VI, Alfonso VIII, Alfonso
IX, Alfonso X, Alfonso XI and Alfonso XII; Ferdinand IV; the Catholic Monarchs; Philip
V and Charles III; and Pelayo and Recadero. In the development of the programme,
both the kings present and those absent are of interest.
Fig. 4. Mariano de la Roca Delgado. Alfonso II el Casto. 1852. Oil on canvas
Source: Museo del Prado.
Throughout the royal programme, there is a total comparison of the kings of the
ancient kingdoms of Spain with the kings of the modern kingdoms, in addition to the
territorial question, which is a constant. The story begins with Recadero y Pelayo
(Torre Fazio, 2012), who began the so-called Reconquista, listing all the Alfonsoes,
except Alfonso VII (Martínez Plaza, 2020). These monarchs played a decisive role
in the extension of Christian territory over Muslim territory. The Alfonsos link up with
the Catholic Monarchs, through whom the Hispanic Monarchy arose, extending the
story to Philip V of Bourbon, under whose reign the Nueva Planta Decrees were
promulgated, by means of which the former kingdoms were unied.
There is not a single allusion to the kings of the Spanish house of Austria in the entire
collection. The Catholic Monarchs are mentioned, and then skip directly to Philip V
and Charles III of Bourbon. From the latter king, another leap is made to Alfonso
XII (Reyero, 2015), omitting the rest of the monarchs of the House of Bourbon and
the nineteenth-century foreigners. The reigns of Ferdinand VII and Isabella II (Bravo
Nieto, 2012), (Fernández-Sirvent, 2014) were turbulent, and they were two monarchs
who provoked discontent among the population. The fact that the mother had been
dethroned justied her own absence.
Anduli • Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales Nº 23 - 2023
• 216 •
We have mentioned above that in the enumeration of the twelve Alfonsos in the arch,
Alfonso VII is omitted, who was replaced by Ferdinand IV of Castile. We believe
that this “historical correction” was made to balance the data presented on the arch.
Throughout the architecture we nd represented three kings of Asturias (Alfonso I, II
and III), four kings of León (Alfonso, IV, V, VI and IX), three kings of Castile (Fernando
IV, Alfonso, VIII and XI) and one King of Castile and León, Alfonso X. Alfonso VII, who
was also king of León and Castile, was replaced by Ferdinand IV, who was only king
of Castile. We think that the replacement of Alfonso VII by Ferdinand IV was done so
that in the iconographic programme there would only be one king of Castile and León,
Alfonso X the Wise, whose image was placed in a prominent place in the arch, on
the pediment facing the Puerta de Alcalá, just behind the pediment facing the Puerta
del Sol, and which represented the coat of arms of Spain, once again promoting the
relationship between the new and old kingdoms. Alfonso X appears between Science
and Legislation, two themes that were important during the reign of Alfonso XII, who,
according to the arch, resembled his medieval namesake. This idea is reinforced by
the express appearance of the coats of arms of the old kingdoms, that of Castilla and
León on the inside of the arch, and the coat of arms of Spain itself, located on the side
facing the Puerta del Sol.
6. Conclusions
In this text we have analysed the symbolism and iconography used to decorate one
of the most important architectural structures erected to mark the end of the Third
Carlist War and the entry of Alfonso XII and his army into Madrid on 20 March 1876.
In relation to this monument, we have two images, a photograph, and a lithograph,
as well as four descriptions, one of which is very exhaustive, that was published by
the Diario de las Familias de Avisos y Noticias de Madrid, on Monday 20th March
1876. The preserved image, in which the different decorative and iconographic
elements of the arch can be seen, was taken by the photographer Jean Laurent, who
has bequeathed us a multitude of images that allow us to analyse in greater detail
ephemeral architectures erected at different times.
Regarding the iconographic program, we have not only been able to locate
the location of the motifs and identify them, but we have also contextualised the
symbolic message that was intended to be conveyed by the piece as a whole. It is
an iconographic programme that connects Alfonso XII with 17 Spanish monarchs.
Within the message, the territorial issue is discussed, from Pelayo, who initiated
the so-called Reconquest, to the Catholic Monarchs, through whom the birth of the
Hispanic Monarchy took place, up to Philip V, who created the current Kingdom of
Spain, which ended with Alfonso XII, the heir to the whole tradition and who also had
to face the territorial issue. It is also interesting to note the omission of all the kings
of the House of Austria, and the Bourbons between Alfonso XII and Charles IV, as
well as the foreign monarchs. We have also been able to note that the idea of the
“twelve Alfonsos”, although not fully developed, was already announced in one of the
inscriptions located in the arch that the Association itself erected on the occasion of
the restoration of the king in 1875. The corpus of the historical press consulted has
also enabled us to nd out who the promoters of the project were, the Ladies of the
Association for the Relief of the Wounded in Campaign, and who its designer was,
the architect Francisco de Cubas, who designed it in its creative Italianate phase,
demonstrating the full validity of this style in the author’s work during the early years
of the reign of Alfonso XII. The same author was also commissioned to design the
Artículos • Antonio-Rafael Fernández Paradas, Nuria Rodríguez Martín
• 217 •
commemorative arch that the Ladies of the Association had erected a year earlier.
Thanks to the documentation kept in the Red Cross Documentation Centre, we have
been able to nd out the cost of the two arches erected by the Ladies’ Association in
1875 and 1876, which has enabled us to compare it with the price of the arch of the
municipal corporation located in Calle Mayor.
With regard to the arch of the “twelve alfonsos”, we have also been able to demonstrate
the importance of the fact that it was illuminated with electric light, as it was one of the
seven architectural spaces illuminated with electricity in the whole of Madrid on those
special days. This has led us to demonstrate the crown’s instrumentalisation of the
use of gas and electricity in the conguration of the festive space.
Finally, thanks to archival documentation, we have been able to reconstruct the
programme of events developed by the Municipal Council for the occasion, which
has allowed us to know the budget invested in the festivities.
Author contribution:
Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, resources, data
curation, writing - original draft preparation; writing – review and editing: Antonio
Rafael Fernández-Paradas and Nuria Rodríguez-Martín.
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