#brumidi

[oaesiir-beloved-of-heaven]

Painting depicting Washington with fellow Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton by Constantino Brumidi.

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Brumidi Corridor, US Capital

[oaesiir-beloved-of-heaven]

Brumidi Corridors facing east towards Patent Lobby.

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Ektachromes by Willard R. Culver.

From “U. S. Capitol, Citadel of Democracy,” National Geographic, August, 1952.

Geography and Physics Illuminate the Senate's District of Columbia Room

These madonnas balance others symbolizing History and the Telegraph. In the corners, Brumidi frescoed his pastel-hued Graces in the flat, but made them so lifelike and third-dimensional that they stand out like sculpture in the round. Certain native painters, resentful of his commissions, belittled him, but his works have never failed to astonish and charm the millions who visit the Capitol.

At 55 years, Brumidi maried Lola Germon, a beauty of 18, who posed for several of his madonnas. Descendants said she was the model for Freedom in the dome's fresco.

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Ektachromes by Willard R. Culver.

From “U. S. Capitol, Citadel of Democracy,” National Geographic, August, 1952.

Work Restoring the Vatican's Art Treasures Helped Give Brumidi the Classic Touch

Jewel-bright frescoed medallions at the top of these two pages embellish the ceiling of the President's Room. Legislation holds the sword of justice; Liberty draws the ax from the fasces symbolizing power. 

Brumidi executed the paintings in true fresco. By this method the artist paints moist plaster with pigment mixed with water.

When mortar hardens, colors grow lighter and more brilliant. Air's chemical action on the lime produces a durable finish approaching that of marble.

Michelangelo used this technique in decorating the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.

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Ektachromes by Willard R. Culver.

From “U. S. Capitol, Citadel of Democracy,” National Geographic, August, 1952.

Vespucius, Columbus, Franklin, and Elder Brewster Represent Forces That Shaped America

Esploration, Discovery, History, and Religion are symbolized by the four men. To characterize his subjects, Brumidi immersed himself in stories of his adopted land.

Said the artist: "My one ambition and my daily prayer is that I may live long enough to make beautiful the Capitol of the one country on earth in which there is liberty."

The four portraits are frescoed at corners of the President's Room. Picture moldings, which stand out like marble or wood, actually have no depth, the artist having painted them flat with oil on dry plaster. Medallions at the corners show State seals.

Never forget, history is written, and painted, by the old white guys.

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Ektachromes by WIllard R. Culver.

From "U. S. Capitol, Citadel of Democracy," National Geographic, August, 1952.

Benignant Peace and Scowling War Deck a Senate Room

A Captain of the guard in his native Rome, liberty-loving Constanino Brumidi defied an order to fire on his fellow Italians during the 1848 revolutions. In penalty he spent 14 months in jail and, though he had the friendship of Pope Pius IX, he had to flee Italy for his life.

A century ago this September [1952] Brumidi emigrated to America; he devoted virtually the rest of his life to painting for freedom's cause. So proud was he of becoming an American that he signed one of his works "Citizen of the U. S."

In 1855 the painter began to decorate the Capitol, a project he carried out through the terms of six residents. More than any other artist, he was responsible for its dazzling decorations.

Brumidi died unhonored, "worried by the terrible future prospect of starvation," and so impoverished that Congress appropriated funeral funds. His obscure grave in a Washington cemetery remained unmarked until 1952.

[anthonyjclark]

Rotunda of the United States Capitol; fresco "Apotheosis of Washington" by Constantino Brumidi; sculpture of George Washington by Jean-Antoine Houdon.

Copyright 2011 Anthony J. Clark.