Revista Cubana de Medicina Militar (Jan 2021)
Finlay painting by Albaijés
Abstract
The scientific work of Dr. Carlos J. Finlay Barrés has motivated the work of artists who have honored him with works that constitute authentic artistic and cultural heritages of the nation. Among those who paid homage to him with painting is the master Juan Albaijés Ciurana, who represented the illustrious sage in oil. The present work aims to show this work and establish the noble motif that inspired the painting. The iconographic and iconological methods were used, based on a bibliographic review on the life of the Cuban doctor and his investigative activity that made him an eminent man of science, capable of elaborating at the end of the 19th century, an advanced theory on the mode of contagion and the spread of yellow fever, proven experimentally and put into practice, which contributed to saving many lives in Cuba and other areas of the continent. The results of this work cause interest in the knowledge of art and its relationship with the history of medicine. The didactic value of the pictorial work for educational work aimed at the training of future health professionals is also highlighted.
