MURAL DEPICTS MEDICINE'S RICH HISTORY

When John Hunn started on his History of Medicine Mural, he was in a St. Louis studio staring at a 72-foot-long piece of white canvas.

It was more than a little intimidating.

But then he picked up a pencil and began to draw. Imhotep, the first physician known by name, quickly appeared. Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur followed. Shadows and colors made them come alive.

On Sunday, about six months after Hunn's first pencil stroke, hundreds of Cape Girardeau residents visited Southeast Missouri Hospital to celebrate the artist's talent. They also remembered the man who financed that talent -- John H. Wiseman.

The hospital dedicated its new lobby in August. Hunn's mural was already in progress, and hospital officials planned to hang it in a large, curved space over the revolving door on the west side.

Ron Hahs, chairman of the Southeast Missouri Hospital Board of Trustees, said officials originally wanted a mural that depicted the hospital's history. Hunn's presentation changed their minds.

"We had given the hospital history theme to some 14 artists suggested to us by art instructors in the area," Hahs said. "The quality of John Hunn's work and the degree of detail in his first presentation moved us.

"We unanimously agreed to give him the project."

Hahs said Cape Girardeau is becoming known as a "city of murals." He wants Southeast Missouri Hospital's mural to become a focal point of that city and invited teachers to use it as an educational tool.

It was clear what the crowd thought of Hunn's work. When a Southeast Missourian photographer asked him to stand next to the mural for a picture, visitors broke into applause.

Hunn, 48, said the most satisfaction came from seeing his mural -- the largest he has done -- inside such a beautiful lobby. It reminded him of the challenges he faced during months of drawing and painting.

First, he had to come up with the people who deserved recognition on the mural. Hunn said narrowing the list to 12 notable physicians and scientists, plus several unidentified figures, was difficult.

"With those like Hippocrates, Pasteur and Curie, there was no way to leave them out," he said. "But there easily could have been 100 figures in the painting. Then I had some struggles with giving the mural a lot of detail but not giving it a stilted feel."

A large plaque below the mural marks its dedication to John H. Wiseman, whose estate made the work possible. Wiseman worked for Southeast Missouri State University but volunteered for a number of art-related organizations. In 1995, the year he died, he received the prestigious Otto Dingeldein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts.

Wiseman also served on the Southeast Missouri Hospital Foundation Board.

With the mural dedication behind them, hospital officials now are looking forward to renovations on the outside of their buildings.

"This is a collage of buildings constructed over many years," Hahs said. "The last step in this beautification process will be to tie everything together through stone work, glass work and landscaping."

He said the board of trustees plans to ask donors for a sculpture to be placed outside the new lobby.