Apotheosis of Democracy

Last updated
Apotheosis of Democracy
Capitol pediment Washington DC 2007.jpg
Artist Paul Wayland Bartlett
Year1916 (1916)
TypeMarble
Dimensions18 m(60 ft)
Location Washington, D.C., U.S.
Coordinates 38°53′20.6556″N77°0′30.88″W / 38.889071000°N 77.0085778°W / 38.889071000; -77.0085778
Owner Architect of the Capitol

Apotheosis of Democracy is a public artwork by American sculptor Paul Wayland Bartlett, located on the United States Capitol House of Representatives portico's east front in Washington, D.C., United States. This sculpture was surveyed in 1993 as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program. [1]

Contents

Description

The pediment's center focal point is the figure of allegorical Peace, which is dressed in armor and is depicted protecting Genius. Leaning against Peace's proper right leg, Genius holds a torch that symbolizes immortality in his proper right hand. Peace stands in front of an olive tree. To Peace's proper left is a figure of Agriculture, and next to that figure is a reaper with his assistant, a farmer with his bull, a putti carrying grapes, and a mother with her child who plays with a ram. To the proper right of Peace is Industry, and next to him is a printmaker, an ironworker, a founder, a factory girl and a fisherman. The corners of the pediment have waves, which represent the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The pediment is made of Georgia marble. [1]

Condition

In 1993 Apotheosis of Democracy was surveyed by art conservators from the Save Outdoor Sculpture! program and was described as "well maintained." [1]

Acquisition, creation and installation

Capitol House of Rep Washington.jpg

The original pediment was commissioned to Erastus Dow Palmer in 1857, however, the work was never completed due to lack of funding. Another competition was held in 1908 and Bartlett was chosen. [1]

Barlett signed the contract for the commission in February, 1909, and in January 1915 was described as being "engaged continuously since that time" in the task, amounting to six years of work. [2] The figures were modeled in Paris, France and Washington in the years from 1911 to 1914, and were carved by the Piccirilli Brothers from 1914 to 1916. The pediment was dedicated on August 2, 1916. [3]

In March, 1963 plaster maquettes of the pediment were given to the U.S. Government by Bartlett's stepdaughter, Armistead Peter III. The works are on display in the Capitol underground hallway that heads to the Rayburn House Office Building. [1]

As of 1995 a Study for Apotheosis of Democracy by Bartlett was in the collection of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. A bronze sculpture (54 x 54.5 x 18) on a wooden base, it depicts Peace and Genius. It was purchased in 1959 and as of 1995 it was surveyed as needing urgent treatment. [1]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of William Blackstone</span> Statue by Paul Wayland Bartlett in Washington, D.C., U.S.

Sir William Blackstone is a bronze statue by Paul Wayland Bartlett of the English legal scholar William Blackstone. It is located at E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse, at 333 Pennsylvania Avenue in northwest Washington, D.C., in the Judiciary Square neighborhood. It was installed on August 11, 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolph Alexander Weinman</span> American sculptor and architectural sculptor (1870–1952)

Adolph Alexander Weinman was a German-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantino Brumidi</span> Greek-Italian-American painter

Constantino Brumidi was an Italian painter and a naturalised American citizen, best known and honored for his fresco work, Apotheosis of Washington, in the Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Henry Niehaus</span> American sculptor

Charles Henry Niehaus was an American sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randolph Rogers</span> American sculptor

Randolph Rogers was an American Neoclassical sculptor. An expatriate who lived most of his life in Italy, his works ranged from popular subjects to major commissions, including the Columbus Doors at the U.S. Capitol and American Civil War monuments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Wayland Bartlett</span> American sculptor (1865–1925)

Paul Wayland Bartlett was an American sculptor working in the Beaux-Arts tradition of heroic realism.

The Piccirilli brothers were an Italian family of renowned marble carvers and sculptors who carved many of the most significant marble sculptures in the United States, including Daniel Chester French’s colossal Abraham Lincoln (1920) in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Ingersoll Aitken</span> American sculptor (1878–1949)

Robert Ingersoll Aitken was an American sculptor. Perhaps his most famous work is the West Pediment of the United States Supreme Court Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Farnsworth Mears</span> American sculptor (1872–1916)

Helen Farnsworth Mears was an American sculptor.

<i>Eve</i> (Davidson) 1931 sculpture by Davidson

Eve is an outdoor sculpture of the biblical Eve created by Robert William Davidson in 1931. It is currently located in a fountain at Ball Nurses' Sunken Garden and Convalescent Park on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). The overall dimensions of this bronze sculpture are 5’ tall, 2’ long, and 1’ wide.

The Indiana Statehouse Public Art Collection, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, consists of more than 40 public artworks that are on display inside and around the grounds of Indiana Statehouse and the Indiana Government Center North and Indiana Government Center South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of George Washington (Indianapolis)</span> Public artwork by Donald De Lue

George Washington is a public artwork by American sculptor Donald De Lue, located on the grounds of the Indiana Statehouse, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The bronze statue of George Washington that occupies the Indiana Statehouse south lawn is one of several copies of a 1959 original wax cast at the Modern Art Foundry in Long Island, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boy Scout Commemorative Tribute</span> Artwork by Donald De Lue

The Boy Scout Commemorative Tribute is a public artwork by American sculptor Donald De Lue, located on The Ellipse within The White House and President's Park in Washington, D.C., United States. The monument and fountain are maintained by the National Park Service. Sometimes referred to as the Boy Scout Memorial or Boy Scout Fountain, the Boy Scout Commemorative Tribute serves as a monument to the Boy Scouts of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutionary War Door</span> Artwork by Thomas Crawford

The Revolutionary War Door is an artwork by American sculptor Thomas Crawford, located on the United States Capitol House of Representatives wing east front in Washington, D.C., United States. This sculptured door was surveyed in 1993 as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Jason Lee</span> Sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor

Jason Lee, also known as Reverend Jason Lee, is an outdoor bronze sculpture of Jason Lee, located in Salem, Oregon, United States. It was designed by Alexander Phimister Proctor, who died in 1950 when only the work's model was finished. His son Gifford MacGregor Proctor completed the sculpture between 1950 and 1953. The one installed on the grounds of the Oregon State Capitol is a duplicate of a bronze statue unveiled in the United States Capitol in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedimental sculptures in the United States</span>

Pedimental sculptures are sculptures within the frame of a pediment on the exterior of a building, some examples of which can be found in the United States. Pedimental sculpture pose special challenges to sculptors: the triangular composition limits the choices for figures or ornament at the ends, and the sculpture must be designed to be viewed both from below and from a distance.

<i>Progress of Civilization Pediment</i> Marble sculpture in Washington, D.C.

The Progress of Civilization is a marble pediment above the entrance to the Senate wing of the United States Capitol building designed by the sculptor Thomas Crawford. An allegorical personification of America stands at the center of the pediment. To her right, a white woodsman clears the wilderness inhabited by a Native American boy, father, mother, and child. The left side of the pediment depicts a soldier, a merchant, two schoolchildren, a teacher with her pupil, and a mechanic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington and the Revolutionary War Door</span> Pair of a bronze sculptured doors to the Senate wing of the United States Capitol

The George Washington and the Revolutionary War Door (1855–1868) is pair of a bronze sculptured doors to the Senate wing of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., United States. American sculptor Thomas Crawford designed and modeled the doors in the mid-1850s, but died prior to their completion. American sculptor William H. Rinehart completed the doors based on Crawford's designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Israel Putnam</span> Statue in Bushnell Park, Connecticut, US

General Israel Putnam is a monumental statue in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Located in the city's Bushnell Park, the statue was designed by sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward and honors Israel Putnam, a military officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The statue was largely paid for by a donation from judge Joseph P. Allyn and was dedicated in a large ceremony in 1874. It was one of the first statues to be erected in the park, which nowadays houses several other monuments to famous Connecticut residents. From an artistic standpoint, the statue has received mixed reviews from critics.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smithsonian (1993). "Apotheosis of Democracy, (sculpture)". Save Outdoor Sculpture. Smithsonian. Retrieved 15 Feb 2011.
  2. Carroll, Mitchell (1 January 1915). "Paul Bartlett's Pediment Group for the House Wing of the National Capitol". Art & Archeology Magazine. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  3. Architect of the Capitol. "Apotheosis of Democracy". Capitol Campus. Architect of the Capitol. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 15 Feb 2011.