Rossi Pharmacy Interior 1949
The mural in the interior space of the old Rossi Bros. Pharmacy building at 535 San Anselmo Avenue was painted by Jose Moya del Pino. It was commissioned in 1945 and depicts the historical evolution of pharmacy. It is a lime-casein fresco secco.
The composition begins with the figure of Hermes Trismegistus, who lived about the time of Moses, and was regarded by alchemists as the personification of Thoth, the Eygptian god of science and learning.
Next are the images of Chaldean and the Babylonian medicine man Urlugaledin. Greece and Rome are represented by Hippocrates and Galen, fathers of western curative science.
The medieval period follows with the Arabic Aristotelian philosopher and doctor, Avicenna, and the Franciscan alchemist Roger Bacon. Nicolas Flamel and Albertus Magnus, the Dominican teacher of Saint Thomas Aquinas, are then depicted with the retorts and paraphernalia of the Alchemists.
The works of Paracelsus are represented by the books “Paragranum” and “Paramirum,” which influenced the scientific thinking and pharmacopia of the Renaissance. The Renaissance itself is symbolized by Saladin de Annsolo and this apprentice, followed by Glauber, who enriched science with many important discoveries – (crystallized sodium sulfate is still called “Glauber’s salts”). The Reformation is represented by the Dutchman Helvetius.
As the frieze approaches modern times, the field of pharmacy and scientific discoveries becomes crowded and the composition is limited to a few highlights – the Swedish pharmacist Karl William Scheele, who is illustrated with his apparatus, and finally to William Proctor, the father of American pharmacists with his assistant.
The mural closes with a representation of a contemporary pharmacist (one of the Rossi brothers) in the act of preparing a prescription, and a parchment on which the pharmacist’s oath is inscribed.
Spanish-born Jose Moya del Pino was one of the muralist chosen by the Federal Public Works of Art Project to paint murals in Coit Tower. He created other public art and many portraits and canvases in his career. The Moya Library at the Marin Art and Garden Center is named in his honor.
