El Astronauta is a sculpture created by sculptor Francisco Leiro in the year 2001. It is located at the Glorieta del Universo, a roundabout in the municipality of Valdemoro. The work is part of the set of artistic interventions in public space promoted by the local government at the beginning of the 21st century, with the objective of providing cultural and visual identity to new urbanized areas of the municipality.
The sculpture represents an astronaut with a helmet, in a hieratic and tall posture, characteristic of Leiro's style. The character, of monumental proportions, reaches 4 meters in height and was built with a total weight of 2,600 kilos of cast stainless steel. The casting of the work was carried out by the company Fundición Capa, specialized in artistic sculpture, located in the Madrid municipality of Arganda del Rey.
The choice of an astronaut as a sculptural motif in the Glorieta del Universo is not accidental: it alludes to the explorer spirit of human beings and contemporary scientific and technological advances, in line with the name of the place. The work stands out for its brilliant metallic finish, which reflects light and highlights its presence in the urban environment.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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