The construction of this equestrian statue of General Joaquín Baldomero Fernández Álvarez Espartero (1793-1879) was approved by a Law of July 9, 1882. A committee was created that decided its location on November 14, 1884 at the intersection of Calle Alcalá and Calle Vicálvaro (today O’Donnell), once the idea of locating it on the Atocha roundabout had been rejected. The equestrian monument, paid for by national subscription, was commissioned to the sculptor from Tarragona Pablo Gibert, who was also the author of the bas-reliefs of the pedestal, and was cast in the Barcelona workshops of José Comas Blanch.

The inauguration took place with the utmost solemnity on August 31, 1886 and was protected by a grating that was removed years later. As a matter of interest, it must be mentioned that in 1895 another image of Espartero on horseback was inaugurated in Logroño by the same sculptor, who repeated the Madrid model but covering the rider with a bicorn.

© Antonello Dellanotte