In the context of this artwork, explore the Olympic Stadium of the Construction and location.
The monumental statue was originally made to sit outside the Central University of Venezuela (UCV)'s Olympic Stadium for the 1951 Bolivarian Games; during the Bolivarian Games, the Olympic flame was held in the pelvis at the top of the statue. There is another monumental statue, Francisco Narváez' El Atleta, that is also located by the Olympic Stadium and was made in 1951. Unlike the other works of art at the university, which were part of the modernist Synthesis of the Arts movement under the design of architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva, the statue of María Lionza was commissioned by the dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, who wanted to make her a symbol of Venezuela. Villanueva had not wanted the statue in the campus, as it was not in line with his design principles.
pelvis Marcos Pérez Jiménez María Lionza modernist Olympic Stadium Francisco Narváez Central University of Venezuela El Atleta 1951 Bolivarian Games Bolivarian Games Carlos Raúl Villanueva