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The nurse in Madrid's monuments (1908-1936)

Mª Teresa Miralles-Sangro, Marta Durán Escribano1
1
Profesoras del Departamento de Enfermería de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, España

Manuscript received by 20.04.2005
Manuscrito accepted by
16.09.2005 

Index de Enfermería [Index Enferm] 2005; 51: 65-69 (original version in Spanish, printed issue)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Miralles-Sangro MT, Durán Escribano M. The nurse in Madrid's monuments (1908-1936). Index de Enfermería [Index Enferm] (digital version) 2005; 51. In </index-enfermeria/51/e5899.php> Consulted

 

 

 

Abstract

The Contemporary Era saw its beginnings in Spain in 1808. This brought great changes and socio-political, economical and cultural conflicts. These lasted through the XIXth Century and did not see their end until the first third into the XXth Century. We will be analysing nursing influence in its social context. As well, we will striving to discover its presence in the public/private monuments as social recognition. The aim will be to look at Madrid's female images and select those representing the nursing profession.
We chose this chronological frame due to the fact that, on the one hand, nursing as a profession started in the XIXth Century and, on the other one, it was in this same period that this type of monument started to appear in cities. In our research we came across the monument to the Duchess of 'la Victoria', its origin, date and artistic style. The Red Cross identified its nurses with it. It illustrated their work with the 'injured soldiers in the Morocco's campaign' and achieved the iconographic analysis of a monument related to nursing care identifying its iconographic theme, historic context and iconological interpretation.
Our conclusion is that nurses had little possibility of recognition in the social scheme at the time but, they excelled in their care and professionalism and through this they gained social acknowledgement.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

     In the period we are considering, the image of the nurse has been studied in literature, history and also but less often in art. That was the reason that made us analyze her presence in public or private monuments of the city of Madrid. Our aim is to analyse female monuments of Madrid in which nurses are represented.
     The chronological period we are considering goes from the 19th century to the first third of the 20th century. On the one hand, we thought about this period because the 19th century has a special meaning for nursing as a profession, considering that the Real Escuela de Enfermeras de Santa Isabel de Hungría in 1896 was the first Nursing School in our country and the Royal Decree of 7th May 1915 was the first professional nursing regulation. On the other hand, because monuments were first erected in cities during the 19th century. We think that the period of time we are considering will give us a general idea of the evolution of the presence of nursing in Madrid.

The Nurse in Monuments

     What is a monument? Considering its original sense we can say that it is a handmade work whose aim is to make current and future generations Hospital de San Jos� y Santa Adela visto desde la Avenida Reina Victoria. Madrid, 1918remember heroic deeds or individual destinies. Nowadays, a monument is understood to be a work of art made by humans that has two characteristics: the first one is a certain tendency to perpetuate the representations by using symbols with a colossal and magnified meaning and the second one is a clear, secular, worldly and profane intention of survival for historical people and facts.
     Monuments emerged in cities during the 19th century as new urban elements becoming essentials in every city. They had two functions: one of them was educational and the other one was ornamental, and as well as decorative sculptures, they had a ludic function whitin the city. It is not uncommon for monuments of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century to represent the cult of values linked to national identity, representing people and events of former times. Popular subscriptions were not uncommon to support a certain idea.
     To begin with, we have chosen the 18th century, because this year was a milestone in our history because of the Spanish uprising against French invaders.  
     This moment in history is viewed by historians and artists from different standpoints and it is so important for the nineteenth-century society that it has been represented in different ways and even in monuments of different cities. In Madrid, while the city was being rebuilt, urban monuments started to be erected. The father Cesare Ripa talks in detail about it and he presents one kind of representation where the female figure is compared to an allegory of virtues, generally accompanied by important figures, mostly men, whose virtues were extolled.
     It is in the monument dedicated to the Heros of the 2nd of May, that the female figure is represented in our public statues for the first time. We are talking about Victoria, who becomes a faithful ally of our heroes and at the same time, it is the Woman who is not considered to be different from other people. In this case she is even regarded as the heroine of war. Following with our interesting walk around the city, we saw the image of La Fama, accompanying Calderón (1878, Santa Ana square) and Cánovas (1900 Marina Española square). We identified the History of important social events that took place during the regency of Mª Cristina de Borbón (1893, Felipe IV street) and we saw the Mother-Woman and la Paz, both guarding a monument dedicated to Alfonso XII in Parque del Retiro, and the monuments dedicated to the doctors Federico Rubio and Gali (1906, Parque del Oeste) and Tolosa Latour (1925, Retiro) representing Humanity and Gratitude.
     Rural women were frequently represented during the Literary Romanticism and some authors such as Valera, Pereda, Galdós, Palacio Valdés and the Countess of Pardo Bazán made a portrait of women at that time and described their role in society. On the one hand, most women of the medium and low status were subordinated to their husband, dedicated to meet the right husband and to do the housework. On the other hand, women of higher status or La Duquesa de la Victoria con uniforme de enfermerabelonging to the aristocracy were described, as Gómez-Ferrer explains, as an "essential factor for relationships in the parlour, at lunch time, in the theater or while going for a walk". This image of women will lead to a particular way of interpreting housework and their role in society.
     In a more abstract sense, we find the female figure in the allegory of the Satire, Poetry and Prose in the monument dedicated to Quevedo (1902, Quevedo square), the Wisdom to Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1926, Retiro), the Industry, Agriculture, the Arts, Science and Liberty amongst other allegories in the monument dedicated to Alfonso XII (Retiro), the Eloquence marked the life of Emilio Castelar (1908, Paseo Castellana).
     Nonetheless, women were important not only to highlight virtues and achievements of other people but because of the recognition of their values or because of their role in history that made them be considered the real stars of some of those monuments. That is the case of the monument dedicated to Queen Isabel II "very Spanish queen" (1850, Isabel II Sq). After this monument, it came another one dedicated to her namesake Isabel I "the Catholic" (1883, Paseo Castellana) and another one erected in 1887 dedicated to Bárbara de Braganza (Villa de Paris Sq). Some time after, another monument where Mª Cristina de Borbón is represented in her role of "Governing Queen" was erected (1893, Felipe IV).
     There is a different profile for women at that time. They were known for their courage in defense of women and also for their education, that is the case of Concepción Arenal, eminent jurist in favour of women and of the working class (1934, Parque del Oeste). That is also the case of the Countess of Pardo Bazán (1926 de la Princesa street). We also had a look the monument dedicated to the Duchess of Victoria (1925, Reina Victoria Avenue, 24. Red Cross), who with the group of nurses of Cruz Roja was identified because of their commitment with "the wounded and ill soldiers of the Morocco's campaign", as it is written on the inscription. Women are again seen as people who help and comfort men; certainly she deserved a monument but together with soldiers.

The Monument Dedicated to the Duchess of Victoria, Nurse

     The monument was erected in 1925, it is not signed but according to consulted sources, its author is the Australian sculptor from Oviedo, Julio González Pola y García (1865-1929). The monument is located in front of the facade between the two arcades of the main door of San José y Santa Adela Hospital, located in Reina Victoria Avenue, Madrid.
     The Central Hospital of the Red Cross, better known as San José y Santa Adela Hospital, was built between 1924 and 1928 by the architect Manuel de Cárdenas Pastor on a land owned by the Compañía Urbanizadora Metropolitana and later donated to the Red Cross. It was built on a floor in the shape of "U" around a garden that gives onto Reina Victoria Avenue and it was financed thanks to the money won on a special National Lottery draw. The General Directorate for Charities (Dirección General de Beneficencia) gave the Supreme Assembly of the Red Cross the management of the hospital, later known as San José y Santa Adela Hospital.
     The Hospital was officially given through the Royal Decree of the Government Ministry, dated December 12, 1918. The deed of assignment was given the 11th of December.  Its first director was the doctor Víctor Manuel Nogueras, by which it was officially inaugurated the 16th of December 1918. At that time, it had 72 beds and all the advances existing at the moment, it even had a residence for students of nursing.
     The justification for this monument is both commemorative and of exaltation. Its emblematic nature will live in our memory. It is all about highlighting the role played by a specific person, the Duchess of Victoria, by which nurses and their profession will be represented and it is also about highlighting the edifying role of nurses, as social benefactors. The monument also had a social meaning, as Barón de Lhys states in his article published in the Spanish Red Cross Magazine in June 1925 "on these monumental plaques, González Pola has exactly and harmonically perpetuated the aim of this national tribute: representatives of the Peninsular Army, of the infantry regiment and of the indigenous troops gratefully and admirably look at the Red Cross, that under the auspices of V.M. and effectively supported by the Duchess of Victoria and some other famous nurses, helps and takes care of the combatants killed by the enemy or by the suffering of the campaign".
     The historical moment we are focusing on covers the period between the year 1918 and 1923. It was at that time that, in an atmosphere of great tension in the Morocco conflict, and as a result of former treatries, forces of occupation arrived in the area of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco. Two areas were the focus of attention: the area of Yebala, defended by El Raisuni and the area of the Rif, in the hands of Ab-El-Krim. In 1921, the general Fernández Silvestre, very quickly and without a proper technical training, began operations in the Rif, whose consequences were a military defeat and the loss of hundreds of human lives. The front of operations between the Rif and Melilla collapsed and Ab-el-Krim conquered Anual and Monte Arruit, putting Melilla at risk. These events caused public indignation in Spain against those responsible for the disaster. The government decided to move the troops in order to rescue the situation and the territory. The Red Cross sent a group of nurses led by the Duchess of Victoria, with the aim of opening war hospitals in the areas of conflict of Melilla and Larache.
     In relation to its size, the monument is not very big and it has not a grandiloquent emphasis either. The sculpture is on a pedestal and you do not need to move away from it to admire it. The monument could be divided into three bodies or horizontal lines. The first and lower body leans on the ground and it is the base of the monument, it is a rectangular stone of about 1 meter high and 3 meters long. The inscription says:

A la Duquesa de la Victoria insigne bienhechora de los soldados heridos y enfermos por la Campaña de Marruecos La nación agradecida
(To the Duchess of Victoria, famous benefactor of the wounded and ill soldiers of the Morocco's campaign A grateful nation)

     Ms Carmen de Angoloti y Mesa, Duchess of Victoria, President of District of the Central Women Assembly of the Spanish Red Cross, is the person to whom the monument is dedicated. It is important to highlight her humanitarian and pioneering work in the field of the modern Spanish nursing. The main part of the monument has a really stage meaning. There is a life-size figure of a nurse on her knees looking after a soldier wounded during a battle. The Duchess of Victoria is the nurse. The realism of the monument is striking, her locks were showing below her wimple. She is wearing the winter uniform of the Corps of Nurses of the Red Cross. It has a white cloak on her shoulders held by the straps of a white apron she is wearing over a white coat.
     The head of the soldier who fell in combat is resting on the right arm of the nurse. His hand is resting on her hand. She looks at his closed eyes expressing pain while she tries to comfort him. The soldier lies on the ground next to his rifle with his cartridge belt hanging and his army jacket open (with the Red Cross decoration on it). He leans on his kit bag and he hopes the nurse will save his life. There are also two Greek crosses that are the symbol of the institution commissioning the monument.
     Then we have the third part of the monument, a big line made of palm leaves, symbol of martyrdom, bearing a big red cross on a white surface that says: 

Este monumento fue inaugurado el 29 de junio de 1926 por S.M. la reina doña Victoria Eugenia bajo cuyo alto patrocinio alentados por su augusto ejemplo realizaron su piadosa y patriótica obra los hospitales de la Cruz Roja de toda España.
(This monument was inaugurated the 29th of June 1926 by Her Majesty the Queen Victoria Eugenia, whose august example was followed by the Spanish Red Cross Hospitals when carrying out their devout and patriotic job)

     To both sides of the cross there are four individual figures standing up, two on each side. They are the soldiers of the different regiments that took part on the battle. On the left side we have indigenous troops and officer of regulares and on the right side we have a legionary and an official of the Infantry Regiment of Morocco.
     There is a big crown of laurels, symbol of heroism and leaning on it there is a heraldic recreation. There is also a national shield on cartouche through which we can see the necklace of the Order of el Toisón de oro and on the top of it we can see the Royal crown.
     On the right, there is the national shield of the symbol of the Infantry Regiment of Morocco. In order to know more about the beginning of this infantry Regiment, we have gone back to the time of its foundation. It was by Royal Decree that in 1920, the king Alfonso XII said: "An Armed Military Unit will be created with the name of Tercio de Extranjeros". In 1925 and by Royal Decree, he changed the name of the Unit so that it would be called Tercio de Marruecos and it was at that time that the monument was erected. It was not until the year 1937 that this Military Unit was called La Legión, which is its current name.
     We think that the ducal crown placed on the left represents that of the house of the Duchess of Victory. The text of the legend written on pink marble and placed on the emblem of the institution refers to Queen Victoria Eugenia, a key person for the Spanish Red Cross. From the Palacio de Oriente, she promoted the organization and the development of the new Institution.

The Duchess of Victoria and Spanish Nursing

     Ms Carmen de Angoloti y Mesa, Duchess of Victoria was born in Madrid the 7th of September 1875 and she passed away the 4th November 1959 in Madrid. She did her studies of Lady Nurse of the Red Cross during the years 1918-1920, she was the best of the students who qualified the same year as her and she immediately started working in San José y Santa Adela Hospital in Madrid. The 16th January 1916, a Royal Decree establishing the foundations for the reorganization of the Spanish Red Cross was enacted. In one of its points it was said that the supreme authority would be exercised by the King, who could delegate to the Queen, who would have the authority in time of war. The Queen was president of a section called Sección de Señoras.
     The first thing the Queen did was the creation of the Corps of Professional Nurses and that of Voluntary Nurses, whose creation was approved by Royal Decree in February 1917, as well as the curriculum. Some time after, the 4th of April of the same year, the Medal-Insignia for the Ladies Nurses was created.
     Halfway through the year 1921, one of the biggest defeats of the Spanish army took place in Africa, it was called "desastre de Annual". Soldiers abandoned by their officers, without weapons, terrified were heading for Melilla. The Red Cross sent a group of nurses led by the Duchess of Victoria, with the aim of setting war hospitals in the areas of conflict of Melilla and Larache. The Duchess of Victoria remained in Africa until the territory was pacified in 1925. She played a self-sacrificing role, she dealt with the injured carefully, and sometimes she even used her own hands to shave and wash the corpses of the soldiers. The campaign finished, she came back to her job in San José y Santa Adela Hospital.
     Carmen Angoloti, Duchess of Victoria was her right-hand woman and a close collaborator of the Queen Victoria Eugenia for the foundation of the hospitals of the Spanish Red Cross. She also promoted Nursing Schools and education. The Queen played an important role when the uprising of the cabilas rifeñas (Bedouin tribes) occurred in 1921. Her dynamism and her promptness played a decisive role when using the means of the Institution, not only in the Peninsula but also in Morocco. She offered Morocco the possibility to count on the Ladies Nurses led by the Duchess of Victoria.
     The Queen, as requested by the Central Assembly of Women, was awarded the Spanish Red Cross Star, paid by subscription by all Ladies Nurses. During a formal act held in el Salón de Columnas in El Palacio de Oriente, the Queen Mother María Cristina conferred the decoration on Victoria Eugenia, who played a very important role in the Spanish Red Cross.
     The 9th of February 1968 had a strong meaning because that day, the Queen Victoria Eugenia paid her last visit to the hospital of the Institution in Madrid. The Queen Victoria Eugenia went back to Spain because of the baptism of Felipe de Borbón and during her first official visit she went to the Hospital she had founded in the 20s. That day, the whole Supreme Assembly welcomed the illustrious visitor at the main entrance of the building. Volunteers of the first Rescue Brigade gathered in the patio of the Hospital, there were nurses, nuns and 190 students of the three years of Nursing; there were flags and music bands as well. It is clear that her return to her homeland and her visit to "her Red Cross" made the Queen vibrate with emotion. Her love and effort in a period of war where nurses were supposed to improve the situation of the soldiers wounded during the battle were not in vain.
     We can conclude that there were no real possibilities for nurses to shine in the social scene but they took their opportunity to provide professional help. They shone individually and as a group so that they deserved social acknowledgment.
     That is why we think that this short story about the presence of Spanish nurses in monuments, should be modestly considered in the history of Spanish Nursing.    

References

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11. Lozano C. Antecedentes históricos de La Legión.Disponible en:  https://www.ejercitomelilla.com/ Unidades/Uni-TERCIO1HTM [Consultado el  28.3.2004].
12. Leguineche M.  La revolución rifeña de Ben Ad el Krim.  Historia 16,  1979; extra IX: 23-27.
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14. Angoloti de Cárdenas I.  La duquesa de la Victoria.  Madrid: Altamira Talleres Gráficos, 1959.
15. Clemente JC. Historia de una iniciativa humanitaria de la Cruz Roja Española (1918-1997). La Escuela Universitaria de Enfermeras de Madrid.  Madrid: Editorial Fundamentos. Col. Ciencia, 1999.

 

 

 

 

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