US Capitol Rotunda

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The center area of the US Capitol Building. Construction started on the center portion of the building in 1819 by Charles Bulfinch the Architect of the Capitol at the time. The current dome of the building was not added until the Civil War. The current dome was finished in 1863, and was made out of cast-iron.[Construction og the Capitol] During the Civil War the rotunda was used as a military hosiptal for Union soldiers.

Art Work

Apotheosis

The rotunda contains many of the most famous pieces of art depicting American History. On the ceiling of the rotunda is a fresco titled The Apotheosis of Washington by Italian artist Constantino Brumidi.[Apotheosis of George Washington]

The Frieze of American History

The frieze itself contains 19 scenes of US History. Constantino Brumidi designed and began work on the frieze in 1878. While working on the figure of William Penn, Brumidi fell off his scaffolding and held on to a rail for 15 minutes until he was rescued. He died a few months later in 1880. A second artist, named Filippo Costaggini, was brought in to finish the remain scenes designed by Brumidi. He finished in 1889 and left a 31 foot gap. In 1951 Allyn Cox was brought in to fill in the gap. [The Frieze]

Relief Scluptures

1. John Cabot
2. Christopher Columbus
3. Sir Walter Raleigh
4. René Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle
5. Conflict of Daniel Boone and the Indians, 1773
6. Landing of the Pilgrims, 1620
7. Preservation of Captian John Smith by Pocahontas, 1606
8. William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, 1682 http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/index.cfm

Baptism of Pocahontas

Commissioned in 1837 and placed in 1840. Oil on canvas by John Gadsby Chapman. Pocahontas is depicted in white as she is baptized Rebecca by Anglican minister Alexander Whiteaker in Jamestown, Virginia; this event is believed to have taken place in 1613 or 1614. She kneels surrounded by family members, including her father, Chief Powhatan, and colonists. Her brother Nantequaus turns away from the ceremony. The baptism occurred before her marriage to Englishman John Rolfe, who stands behind her. Their union is said to be the first recorded marriage between a European and a Native American. The scene symbolizes the belief of Americans at the time that Native Americans should accept Christianity and other European ways. [Baptism of Pocahontas]

Declaration of Independence

Commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819 and placed in 1826. Oil on canvas by John Trumbull. The first painting that Trumbull completed for the Rotunda shows the signing of the Declaration of Independence in what is now called Independence Hall, Philadelphia, on July 4, 1776. The painting features the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence--John Adams, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson (presenting the document), and Benjamin Franklin--standing before John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress. The painting includes portraits of 42 of the 56 signers and 5 other patriots. The artist sketched the individuals and the room from life. [Declaration of Independence]

Discovery of the Mississippi

William H. Powell was the last artist to be commissioned by the Congress to create a painting for the Rotunda. Commissioned in 1847 and purchased in 1855. At the center of his dramatic and brilliantly colored canvas, riding a white horse, is Spanish conqueror and explorer Hernando DeSoto, who in 1541 became the first European to view the Mississippi River. As De Soto and his troops approach, the Native Americans in front of their tepees watch, and a chief holds out a peace pipe. In the foreground is a jumble of weapons and soldiers, suggesting the attack they had suffered shortly before. To the right, a monk prays as a newly-constructed crucifix is set in the ground.[Discovery of the Mississippi]

Embarkation of the Pilgrims

Commissioned in 1837 and placed in 1844. Oil on canvas by Robert W. Weir Protestant pilgrims are shown on the deck of the ship Speedwell as they depart for the New World from Delft Haven, Holland, on July 22, 1620. William Brewster, holding the Bible, and pastor John Robinson lead Governor Carver, William Bradford, Miles Standish, and their families in prayer. The rainbow at the left side of the painting symbolizes hope and divine protection.[Embarkation of the Pilgrims]

Landing of Columbus

Commissioned in 1836 and placed in 1847. Oil on canvas by John Vanderlyn. Christopher Columbus is shown landing in the West Indies, on an island that the natives called Guanahani and he named San Salvador, on October 12, 1492. He raises the royal banner to claim the land for his Spanish patrons, and he stands bareheaded, with his hat at his feet, in honor of the sacredness of the event. The captains of the Niña and Pinta follow, carrying the banner of Ferdinand and Isabella. The crew displays a range of emotions, and some search for gold in the sand. Natives watch from behind a tree. [Landing of Columbus]

Surrender of General Burgoyne

Commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1822, and placed in 1826. Oil on canvas by John Trumbull. The surrender of British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York, on October 17, 1777, was a turning point in the Revolutionary War, for it prevented the British from dividing New England from the rest of the colonies. The central figure is the American General Horatio Gates, who refused to take the sword offered by General Burgoyne, and, treating his former foe as a gentleman, invited him into his tent. All of the figures in the scene are portraits of specific officers. Trumbull planned this outdoor scene to contrast with Declaration of Independence beside it. [Surrender of General Burgoyne]

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis

Commissioned in 1817 and placed in 1820. Oil on canvas by John Trumbull. The surrender of the British at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781, ended the Revolutionary War. Trumbull placed American General Benjamin Lincoln at the center on a white horse, with French officers on the left and Americans on the right, led by General Washingtonon the brown horse. The British were represented by officers, but Lord Cornwallis himself was not present. Trumbull was proud of the fact that he had painted portraits of the French officers while in France; he also included a self-portrait in the group under the American flag. [Surrender of Cornwallis]

General George Washington Resigning His Commission

Commissioned in 1817 and placed in 1824. Oil on canvas by John Trumbull. General George Washington resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army to the Congress, which was then meeting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, on December 23, 1783. This action was of great significance in establishing civilian rather than military rule, leading to democracy rather than potential dictatorship. Washington is depicted with two aides-de-camp as he addresses the president of the Congress, Thomas Mifflin, and others such as Elbridge Gerry, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and James Madison. Martha Washington and her three grandchildren are shown watching from the gallery, although they were not in fact present at the event.[Washington's Resignation]

Statuary Hall Collection

KS	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Bronze	Jim Brothers	2003
NM	Popé	Marble	Cliff Fragua	2005	Until a permanent location is chosen by the Joint Committee on the Library
OH	James A. Garfield	Marble	Charles Niehaus	1886
TN	Andrew Jackson	Bronze	Belle Kinney Scholz and Leopold F. Scholz	1928
VA	George Washington	Bronze	Jean Antoine Houdon	1934

Memorials

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is to date the only African-American honored with a bust in the United States Capitol. The bust of his head and shoulders is 36 inches high and stands on a pyramidal Belgian black marble base that is 66 inches high. Martin Luther King is depicted in a contemplative and peaceful mood, looking slightly downward. His face is smoothly modeled, in contrast to the textures of his hair and of his jacket and tie. The pedestal was designed by the sculptor to follow the lines of the shoulders of the bust, creating a unified shape and enhancing the monumental effect.

On December 21, 1982, the Congress passed House Concurrent Resolution 153, which directed the procurement of a marble bust "to serve to memorialize [Dr. King’s] contributions on such matters as the historic legislation of the 1960s affecting civil rights and the right to vote." Senator Charles McC. Mathias, Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, the congressional committee overseeing the procurement, said at the unveiling that "Martin Luther King takes his rightful place among the heroes of this nation."

Because the bust would be such an important and visible work of art, the Joint Committee on the Library decided to have a national competition to select a sculptor. The competition was conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts, using a panel selection process that the Endowment had successfully developed over the previous 20 years. Mrs. Coretta Scott King agreed to serve on the advisory committee and to advise the panel of "the salient qualities of Dr. King’s character and physical expression which the Panel should consider in evaluating the qualifications of the competitors."

In December 1984, the panel selected John Wilson of Boston, Massachusetts; Elizabeth Catlett of New York City and Mexico; and Zenos Frudakis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as finalists in the competition. Each sculptor received a $500 grant to create a maquette (i.e., a model) for the panel to review before making its final decision. The Chairman of the Arts Endowment was proud to point out that "this was the first time that Arts Endowment was asked by Congress to prove the expertise of its peer review process, which specifies artistic excellence as its primary criterion to select an artist to create a work of art to be placed in the U.S. Capitol." After reviewing the maquettes at a special meeting on April 15, 1985, the committee selected John Wilson; the artist was awarded a $50,000 commission to cast the model in bronze. The bust was unveiled in the Rotunda on January 16, 1986, the fifty-seventh anniversary of Dr. King’s birth, by Mrs. King, accompanied by their four children and Dr. King’s sister.[Martin Luther King, Jr]

Women's Suffrage Movement

This group portrait monument to the pioneers of the woman suffrage movement, which won women the right to vote in 1920, was sculpted by Adelaide Johnson (1859-1955) from an 8-ton block of marble in Carrara, Italy. The monument features portrait busts of the leaders of the woman suffrage movement. The portraits are copies of the individual busts she carved for the Court of Honor of the Woman's Building at the World's Columbian Exhibition in 1893. The detailed busts are surrounded by rough-hewn marble at the top of the sculpture..) The monument was presented to the Capitol as a gift from the women of the United States by the National Woman's Party and was accepted on behalf of Congress by the Joint Committee on the Library on February 10, 1921. The unveiling ceremony was held in the Rotunda on February 15, 1921, the 101st anniversary of the birth of Susan B. Anthony, and was attended by representatives of over 70 women's organizations. The Committee authorized the installation of the monument in the Crypt, where it remained on continuous display. In accordance with House Concurrent Resolution 216, which was passed by the Congress in September 1996, the sculpture was relocated to the Capitol Rotunda in May 1997. The monument consists of three parts, the 14,000-pound sculpture itself and two rectangular stone base slabs. The black Belgian marble base and the white Carrara marble base were donated by Adelaide Johnson in 1925. However, the black marble base arrived broken and was not replaced by the artist until 1929. In 1930 both pieces were installed, completing the artist's design. The total weight of the monument and its two bases is estimated to be 26,000 pounds. From left to right the figures represent: Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), president of the National Woman Suffrage Association from 1865 to 1893; author of the woman's bill of rights, which she read at the Seneca Falls, New York, convention in 1848; first to demand the vote for women. Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), abolitionist, temperance advocate, and later president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, who joined with Stanton in 1851 to promote woman suffrage; proposed the constitutional amendment passed many years after her death. Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), Quaker reformer and preacher, who worked for abolition, peace, and equality for women in jobs and education; organizer of the 1848 Seneca Falls, New York, convention, which launched the women's rights movement.[Women's Suffrage]

Laying in State and Honor

The main difference between lying in state and honor is the color guard that keeps watch over the coffin. When lying in state the military honor guard watches over the coffin and when lying in honor the US Capitol Police honor guard watches over the coffin.

• Americans lying in state.
• * President Abraham Lincoln (1865)
• * President James Garfield (1881)
• * President Warren Harding (1923)
• * President William Taft (1930)
• * President John F. Kennedy (1963)
• * General Douglas MacArthur (1964)
• * President Herbert Hoover (1964)
• * President Dwight Eisenhower (1969)
• * Senator Everett Dirksen (1969)
• * Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover (1972)
• * President Lyndon Johnson (1973)
• * Vice-President Hubert Humphrey (1978)
• * President Ronald Reagan (2004)
• Americans lying in honor:
• * Officers Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson (1998), the two officers killed in the 1998 shooting incident (Chestnut was the first African American ever to lie in honor in the Capitol)
• * Civil rights icon Rosa Parks: the first woman and second African American to lie in honor in the Capitol (2005).

References

 

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