Martin Kukučín, real name Matej Bencúr (1860–1928), a Slovak physician, novelist, and playwright, was the most significant representative of Slovak literary realism and the founder of modern Slovak prose. 

The statue of Martin Kukučín is part of a modern reconstruction of the Baroque Medical Garden originally created in the 1770s as a garden for the palace of Prince Aspremont. The work stands on a lawn, centrally within the southern section of the garden, and was installed between 1984 and 1986. The model was created by the renowned Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrovič, who depicted the author seated while writing in a notebook that rests on his knees. The statue pedestal and separate flower-laying plaque were designed by the architect Dušan Kuzma. 

The statue is a newer cast from a plaster model that Ivan Meštrovič created in the 1950s and 1960s in the USA. Slovaks living in Argentina planned to unveil the statue in the city of Punta Arenas, where Kukučín worked for many years, but were unable to due to lack of funds. Slovak Jesuits in Canada later expressed interest in the statue, where they made two casts and donated a third to the Slovak Matica in Martin. 

Following its transfer to Slovakia in 1983, the statue was restored by M. Baláž and V. Kapusník and was subsequently placed on a new pedestal in the Medical Garden. On the console at the front of the pedestal is a simple engraved inscription: MARTIN KUKUČÍN. 

On the ground in front of the pedestal lies a separate curved stone slab for the placing of flowers.  

In 2019, the editorial staff of Literárny týždenník (Literary Weekly) and the Slovak Writers' Association instigated the installation of a plaque of thanks beside the statue. 

The present orientation of the statue on the lawn is illogical, with its back towards the path where an additional commemorative plaque has been installed. In previous years, the statue was surrounded by an arch of trees – birches planted for the purpose – and access was from the opposite side. The birch grove bestowed a quiet, intimate atmosphere on the statue of Kukučín intently writing. This effect was lost after the birch trees were cut down and the plaque was added beside the path. 

ZZ

Research status as of 15. 06. 2023.