René Laennec's bas-relief
This stone bas-relief of René Laennec can be found in the little garden of the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of Saint-Volodymyr-le-Grand in Paris (Square Taras-Chevtchenko). In fact, this church is the old chapel of the disappeared Hôpital de la Charité, where Laennec worked during a period.
It was sculpted in 1942 by Breton artist René Quillivic. The sculptor was inspired by an anonymous miniature, offered in 1909 to the Medical Faculty of Paris and incorrectly identified until 1966 as a portrait of Laennec1.
- Photos by Luca Borghi ti.supmacinu|ihgrob.l#| (July 2014)
- Locate the item on this Google Map
The bas-relief of Laennec was made in 1942 rather than 1926. Some articles in the medical literature give a date of 1926 (McIntyre N: The medical statues of Paris. Vesalius 1998;4(2):79-89). This would be the centennial anniversary of Laennec’s death, as inscribed on the stele. However, the new sculpture was first announced to the public on the second page of the Paris-Soir newspaper of 14 August 1942.
Nice shot, again… Fixed!
Thanks, Kirk!