Description

This representation of Pedro Virgili sits on a tall granite base with a metal plaque at the front. Its concave–convex pedestal is decorated on all sides in relief carvings of acanthus and plant volutes. On top of the pedestal we find the bust of Virgili draped in multiple layers of fabric around his torso in symmetrical folds, covering his clothes. He wears a round-necked jacket adorned at the front with buttons and buttonholes, under which we can see a high-necked ruffled shirt. This is a middle-aged, obese man with a thick-set neck and swollen cheeks, wearing a wig and looking straight ahead with a stern look on his face. The entire composition is dominated by the sheer frontality of the bust, which is lent a certain subtlety by the powerful chiaroscuro of the carving of the folds of material and the base, and by the rounded outline of his profile.

History of the piece

The bust was discovered in the anatomical theatre of the old Faculty of Medicine. According to the bibliography, it was commissioned by Antonio Gimbernat for exhibition in all of the Surgery Schools. There is another, very similar, piece in the anatomical theatre of the Royal College of Surgery, Barcelona . Indeed, the bibliography makes reference to a Catalonian sculptor, Ramón Amadeu, having made a bust of Virgili.

The inscription at the bottom of the piece is in poor condition, but judging by its history and the few fragments that remain, it may read "Fecit Anton Jivernat copias Barcelona ...":

"E t/ ...NTON JIVE.../ PIAS BARCELONA/ ..L N .." (where the bust rests on the pedestal).

The other inscription translates as:

"PEDRO VIRGILI/ FOUNDER OF THE FIRST/ SCHOOL OF SURGERY OF THE/ NAVY IN CÁDIZ MDCCLXVIII" (metal plate on the base).