Junípero Serra MemorialOriginal staff plaster memorial to Fray Junípero Serra (1713-1794), founder of the Franciscan missions in AltaCalifornia, in an 18th Century style frame of scrolled curves and foliage. The Mission San Diego de Alcalá wasthe first mission founded in Alta California. The bust portrait of Serra was designed by Architect CarletonMonroe Winslow (1876-1946) from a historical portrait. It was modeled in clay for casting in 1914 by Henry R.Schmohl (1874-1941). This memorial group stood outside the semicircular apse at the rear of the church-likenortheast wing (shown below) of the 1915 Exposition’s Varied Industries and Food Products Building.When this wing of the building was reconstructed in 1971 as the Casa del Prado Theatre,the apse and the Serra Memorial were not replicated.

The castle on the left side of thebase of the Serra Memorial depictsthe heraldic emblem of the formerSpanish Kingdom of Castile. A lion,the emblem of the former SpanishKingdom of León, is shown on theright side. The emblems of Castileand León appear in the coat-of-arms when it is displayed on thenational flag of Spain.

InsideStory

17th Century Spanish ArtistsThree original reinforced plaster-of-Paris casting models for theportrait sculptures above the main entrance of the San DiegoMuseum of Art. Designed in 1924 by San Diego architect WilliamTempleton Johnson (1877-1957), these sculptures were executed byFurio Piccirilli (1868-1949) in New York City. Along with his brothers,Piccirilli created the architectural sculptures for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition’s California State Building and its arched entrygate from the Cabrillo Bridge.

After these casting models were used to makethe final cast stone versions for the Museumof Art, they were abandoned and largelyforgotten under the floor of another BalboaPark building, where they remained until theywere rediscovered in 1975 and moved to thisSculpture Court for preservation.

Spain’s most admired “Old Master” painters:

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660)Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (ca. 1617-1682)Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664)

InsideStory

MadonnaThis original “staff” plaster, freestanding figure of awoman in flowing robes was titled “Religion.” In thephoto on the right it stands at the top of the “retablo,”an altar-like set of niches and pilasters that enlivens theupper portions of the southeast façade. The entireretablo was reproduced for the 1971 reconstruction ofthis building, which was renamed the Casa del Prado.

Unfortunately, the 1971 replacement statuedeteriorated faster than the original. It wasremoved out of concern for the safety of visitors.A third version of the statue was made in 2012from this restored original.

InsideStory