We begin our tour of the sculptures of the orchard, with the bust in memory of the chaplain José Castaño that is located near the house, at the entrance of the garden and is the work of the artist Miguel Ruiz Guerrero. Made in bronze, it has a plaque with two very significant phrases. One of them by the famous writer Benito Pérez Galdós: “In memory of the incomparable Elche, its gallant palm trees and the sympathetic and kindly priest Señor Castaño”. And another by the Spanish writer and film director Vicente Molina Foix: “The Huerto del Cura is a gift that Elche and its visitors owe to the rich vegetation of our land, to its first enthusiastic owner, Chaplain José Castaño, and to the Orts family, who have maintained it in all its incomparable beauty”. The sculpture was installed in May 2018 to mark the centenary of the death of the orchard’s founder.
Bust in memory of the chaplain José Castaño, is the work of the artist Miguel Ruiz Guerrero.
Also in the entrance area there is a large buckler carved in stone, it is the coat of arms of Philip V, the first Bourbon, from the mid-eighteenth century. It was originally on the main facade of the old cavalry barracks of Elche (now blue floors) which was built between 1759 and 1772, during the reign of Charles II. Juan Orts Miralles acquired the old barracks, which was declared a ruin in the early 1960s. Before the demolition, Orts saved the heraldic coat of arms from its façade and moved it to this garden where it has remained ever since.
The buckler, carved in stone, is the coat of arms of Philip V.
Nor should we miss the small virgin that can be seen in the chapel, located next to the house. Of about 60 centimeters of wingspan the image represents the Virgin of the Assumption. It is a piece made of carved and polychrome wood. It is an image of dress, with white mantle embroidered in silver thread of unknown author. As for the dating could be from the late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century.
Image of the Virgin of the Assumption of unknown author.
In front of the west face of the Imperial Palm is the stone bust of Juan Orts Román, made by José Planes. One of the best sculptors of the Region of Murcia in the 20th century. Juan Orts was an erudite scholar of Elche, its palm trees and the ‘Misteri d’Elx’. This sculpture was erected after the homage of his family and friends in 1960. He was the owner of the Orchard from 1940 to 1958 and, thanks to his efforts, in 1943 the Huerto del Cura obtained the distinction of National Artistic Garden.
Bust in stone of Juan Orts Román made by José Planes.
In the northern part of the central rotunda is a bust dedicated to King James I the Conqueror, who liberated the town of Elche from Arab rule in the thirteenth century, specifically in the year 1265. This king is credited with the first protection of the palm grove. According to tradition, against the custom of the time, he prohibited the destruction of the forest that surrounded the city. It is the work of the Valencian sculptor Andrés Pablo Rubio Campos, who carefully studied the figure of the King before starting the piece.
Busto dedicado al Rey D. Jaime I el Conquistador, obra del escultor valenciano Andrés Pablo Rubio Campos.
Very close to this area is the mobile sculptural group called ‘The Tower of Babel’, the work of the kinetic artist from Alicante Eusebio Sempere (1923-1985), winner of the Prince of Asturias Award in 1983. He was a precursor of kinetic art, having an important influence on the national art scene. His legacy is already part of the main collections of contemporary art in Spain and abroad.
Mobile sculptural group called ‘The Tower of Babel’, work of the kinetic artist from Alicante Eusebio Sempere.
Another very representative bust of the garden, perhaps the most iconic of the garden, is that of Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (“Sissi”), in honor of her visit to the Garden in March 1894. Work of the sculptor José Sánchez Lozano (1904-1995), Spanish sculptor born in Alicante. Artist recognized with the gold medal of the Italian Academy of Art and Work (1980). Also the Laurel of Fine Arts of Murcia (1982) and the Gold Medal of the Société Academique d’Education et d’Encouragement de Paris (1986).
Emperatriz Sissi de Austria, en honor a su visita en 1894, obra del escultor José Sánchez Lozano (1904-1995).
On the other hand, in another corner of the garden, very close to the ticket office, you can find a small but beautiful bronze figure of the famous Valencian sculptor Mariano Benlliure (1862-1947). It is the bust of Federico García Sanchiz, writer, novelist, essayist, prologue writer, journalist and Spanish traveler, as well as a personal friend of Juan Orts Román.
Figura en bronce de Federico García Sanchiz del famoso escultor valenciano Mariano Benlliure (1862-1947).
In the Tocador de la Dama, the pool so named by Juan Orts Román (who had written several essays on the Lady of Elche), there is one of the first sculptural reproductions of the Iberian bust, taken in turn from the work of Conrado Alcaraz for the Blanco y Negro Society in 1929. The original bust, found on 4 August 1897, in the archaeological park of La Alcudia de Elche, and which is currently in the Archaeological Museum of Madrid, represents – in the words of the archaeologist Rafael Ramos – ‘… ambiguity, it is the goddess herself in the physical body of her priestess, she is a woman and, at the same time, she is divinity’.
Una de las primeras reproducciones escultóricas de la Dama de Elche, sacado a su vez de la obra de Conrado Alcaraz para la Sociedad Blanco y Negro en 1929.
Finally, the last addition to the sculpture collection of the Huerto del Cura Garden is a piece made in 1988 by the artist Sol Pérez. The title of the work is ‘Interpretation of Titian’s painting “Charles V in the battle of Mühlberg”, inspired by the Mallorcan Siurell’. It is an equestrian sculpture made of stoneware supported on a pine base, which, in turn, rests on an olive tree trunk foot. The place chosen for its placement has been the parterre of the giant dragon tree (Dracaena drago), near the Rocalla.
‘Interpretación del cuadro de Tiziano “Carlos V en la batalla de Mühlberg”, inspirada en el Siurell mallorquín’, obra de Sol Pérez.