The rotunda is connected by corridors leading south to the House of Representatives and north to the Senate chambers. To the immediate south is the semi-circular National Statuary Hall, which was the House of Representatives chamber until 1857. To the northeast is the Old Senate Chamber, used by the Senate until 1859 and by the Supreme Court until 1935.
The rotunda is 96 feet (29 m) in diameter, rises 48 feet (15 m) to the top of its original walls and 180 feet 3 inches (54.94 m) to the canopy of the dome, and is usually visited daily by thousands of people. The space is a national showcase of art, and includes numerous historical paintings and sculptures. It is also used for ceremonial or public events authorized by concurrent resolution of both houses of congress, including the lying in state of honored dead.
Design and construction
The doctor and architect William Thornton was the winner of the contest to design the Capitol in 1793. Thornton had first conceived the idea of a central rotunda. However, due to lack of funds or resources, oft-interrupted construction, and the British attack on Washington during the War of 1812, work on the rotunda did not begin until 1818. The rotunda was completed in 1824 under Architect of the CapitolCharles Bulfinch, as part of a series of new buildings and projects in preparation for the final visit of Marquis de Lafayette in 1824. The rotunda was designed in the neoclassical style and was intended to evoke the design of the Pantheon.[1]
The sandstone rotunda walls rise 48 feet (15 m) above the floor; everything above this—the Capitol dome–was designed in 1854 by Thomas U. Walter, the fourth Architect of the Capitol. Walter had also designed the Capitol's north and south extensions. Work on the dome began in 1856, and in 1859, Walter redesigned the rotunda to consist of an inner and outer dome, with a canopy suspended between them that would be visible through an oculus at the top of the inner dome. In 1862, Walter asked painter Constantino Brumidi to design "a picture 65 feet (20 m) in diameter, painted in fresco, on the concave canopy over the eye of the New Dome of the U.S. Capitol". At this time, Brumidi may have added a watercolor canopy design over Walter's tentative 1859 sketch. The dome was being finished in the middle of the American Civil War and was constructed from fireproof cast iron. During the Civil War, the rotunda was used as a military hospital for Union soldiers. The dome was finally completed in 1866.[2]
The crypt
Originally the crypt had an open ceiling into the rotunda. Visitors can still see the holes in the stone circle that marked the rim of the open space in the rotunda floor. Underneath the floor of the crypt lies a tomb that was the intended burial place for George Washington but after a lengthy battle with his estate and the commonwealth of Virginia the plans for him to be buried in the crypt were abandoned.[3]
Renovation
In January 2013, the Architect of the Capitol announced a four-year, $10 million project to repair and conserve the Capitol Dome's exterior and the Capitol rotunda. The proposal required the stripping of lead paint from the interior of the dome, repair to the ironwork, repainting of the interior of the dome, rehabilitation of the interstitial space between the dome and rotunda, and installation of new lighting in the interstitial space and the rotunda. The dome and rotunda, which were last conserved in 1960, were showing significant signs of rust and disrepair. There was a danger that decorative ironwork could have fallen from the rotunda to the space below, and that weather-related problems could damage the artwork in the rotunda. Without immediate repair, safety netting was installed, temporarily blocking the rotunda's artwork from view.[4]
The first painting Trumbull completed for the rotunda and probably the most widely recognized, the iconic Declaration of Independence is somewhat historically inaccurate and anachronistic. Of the 56 signers, 42 are represented. The rest are absent, possibly because they were not present at the adoption of the declaration or had died by the time of Trumbull's painting. Four are included who did not sign, but whom Trumbull found worthy of inclusion: George Clinton, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Willing, and John Dickinson.[6] A reproduction appears on the United States two-dollar bill.[7]
John Trumbull
Commissioned 1817, purchased 1822, placed 1826
British soldiers under GeneralJohn Burgoyne surrender after the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. The central figure, from the Continental Army, is GeneralHoratio Gates, who refused to accept the traditional sword of surrender that Burgoyne offered. Instead, treating his former foe as a gentleman, General Gates invited General Burgoyne into his tent. The other Americans, shown to the right, are officers serving in the Continental Army.
Trumbull planned this outdoor scene to contrast with Declaration of Independence (above), displayed beside it on the wall of the U.S. Capitol rotunda.[8] Both paintings show large groups of people, but one is an indoor scene, while the other is an outdoor scene of similar perspective.
A combined American-French force led by George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Comte de Rochambeau accept the final surrender of British troops under Lord Cornwallis after the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. American General Benjamin Lincoln is portrayed at the center of the painting riding a white horse, with French officers on the left and Americans on the right, led by Washington on the brown horse. The British were represented by officers, but Lord Cornwallis himself was not present and was represented instead by Charles O'Hara.
The scene here depicts the same event as the "Surrender of Cornwallis" panel of the "Frieze of American History". Trumbull was proud of the fact that he had painted portraits of the French officers while in France and included a small self-portrait of himself under the American flag on the right side of the painting.[9] As noted above, Washington declined O'Hara's sword because according to the custom of the time it would only be proper for Washington to receive the sword from Cornwallis himself; Major General Lincoln accepted the sword in Washington's place. The surrender led to the cessation of major Revolutionary War hostilities and British recognition of American independence in the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
In the foreground, Christopher Columbus raises the royal banner to claim the land for Kingdom of Castile, and he stands bareheaded with his hat at his feet in honor of the sanctity of the event. The captains of the ships Niña and Pinta follow, carrying the banner of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. The crew displays a range of emotions, and some search for gold in the sand. Nearby, natives watch from behind a tree at the right.[11]
At the center of the canvas, Spanish navigator and conquistadorHernando de Soto rides a white horse. De Soto and his troops approach Native Americans in front of tepees, with a chief holding a ceremonial pipe. The foreground is filled by weapons and soldiers to represent the devastating battle at Mauvila (or Mabila), in which de Soto suffered a Pyrrhic victory over Choctaws under Tuscaloosa. To the right, a monk prays as a large crucifix is set into the ground.[12]
Discovery of the Mississippi was the last painting to be commissioned by Congress for the rotunda. De Soto is thought to have become the first European to see the Mississippi River in 1541.
Dressed in white, Pocahontas kneels, surrounded by family members, including her father, Chief Powhatan, and several Jamestown colonists. Her brother Nantequas turns away from the ceremony. The baptism occurred before her marriage to the tobacco planter John Rolfe, who stands behind her.
Pocahontas was baptized (under the name "Rebecca") by the Anglican priest Alexander Whitaker in Jamestown, Virginia. This event is believed to have taken place in 1613, and the marriage between Rolfe and Pocahontas helped to establish peaceful relations between the Jamestown colonists and the Tidewater tribes.[13]
The Frieze of American History is painted to appear as a carved stone bas-relieffrieze but is actually a trompe-l'œil fresco cycle depicting 19 scenes from American history. The "frieze" occupies a band immediately below the 36 windows. Brumidi designed the frieze and prepared a sketch in 1859 but did not begin painting until 1878. Brumidi painted seven and a half scenes. While working on William Penn and the Indians, Brumidi fell off the scaffolding and held on to a rail for 15 minutes until he was rescued. He died a few months later in 1880. After Brumidi's death, Filippo Costaggini was commissioned to complete the eight and a half remaining scenes in Brumidi's sketches. He finished in 1889 and left a 31-foot (9 m) gap due to an error in Brumidi's original design. In 1951, Allyn Cox completed the frieze.[citation needed]
Except for the last three panels named by Allyn Cox, the scenes have no particular titles and many variant titles have been given. The names given here are the names used by the Architect of the Capitol, which uses the names that Brumidi used most frequently in his letters and that were used in Edward Clark and by newspaper articles. The 19 panels are:
This is the first panel and the only allegorical one, portraying a personification of America, wearing a liberty cap, with spear and shield in the center, surrounded by other allegorical figures. To the right is a Native American maiden with a bow and arrows, representing the wild North American continent. At America's feet is a female personification of History, with a stone tablet to record events. To the left of History is an eagle, perched on a fasces, the ancient Roman bundle of birch rods symbolizing authority. To the left of America is another eagle, carrying the olive branch of peace. To the center-left in the background is a man in same pose as the prospector at the end of "Discovery of Gold in California"; this is because Brumidi planned to have the scene connect with his planned last one.
Constantino Brumidi
Christopher Columbus is depicted arriving in the Americas in the first of four scenes of the Spanish conquest. Columbus disembarks off a plank from the Santa María. His crew, armed with weapons, stays aboard; one crew member has a spyglass. Native Americans are portrayed greeting Columbus. Indian women and children are shown, along with native warriors to the right. The Columbus figure may have been based on Luigi Persico statue of Columbus, which was at the time of the painting the on the east central steps of the Capitol.
This panel depicts the burial of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in the Mississippi River after his death from a fever. De Soto led the largest European expedition of both 15th and 16th centuries through the Southeast and Midwest searching for gold, silver, and other valuables.
Designed by Constantino Brumidi Completed by Filippo Costaggini
Depiction of George Washington on horseback receiving the ceremonial sword of surrender from Charles O'Hara, who represented Lord Cornwallis after the final British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown. In reality, it is thought that Washington declined O'Hara's sword because according to the custom of the time it would only be proper for Washington to receive the sword from Cornwallis himself; Major GeneralBenjamin Lincoln instead accepted the sword.
Designed by Constantino Brumidi Completed by Filippo Costaggini
Designed by Constantino Brumidi Completed by Filippo Costaggini
1889
Prospectorsdig and pan for gold with picks, shovels, and other tools in this depiction of the California Gold Rush. In the center, three men (one possibly representing John Sutter) examine a prospector's pan. This was the last scene designed by Brumidi and painted by Costaggini.
Among the group of eleven statues currently encircling the rotunda against the wall at floor level are seven from the National Statuary Hall Collection:
James Garfield was the last American president to be born in a log cabin. Sculptor Niehaus returned to America in 1881 and by virtue of being a native Ohioan was commissioned to sculpt a monument to the recently assassinated President James Garfield, who was also from Ohio.[citation needed]
The bust of his head and shoulders is 36 inches (91 cm) high and stands on a pyramidal Belgian black marble base that is 66 inches (168 cm) high. 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.[citation needed]
On December 21, 1982, the Congress passed House Concurrent Resolution 153, which directed the procurement of a marble bust "to serve to memorialize King's contributions on such matters as the historic legislation of the 1960s affecting civil rights and the right to vote". Senator Charles Mathias, Jr., 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."[citation needed]
John Woodrow 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 King's birth, by Mrs. King, accompanied by their four children and King's sister.[22]
Women's suffrage
This group portrait monument is known formally as the Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, pioneers of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. Their efforts, and the work of later suffrage activists like Alice Paul, eventually led to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. The work was sculpted by Adelaide Johnson (1859–1955) from a 16,000-pound (7,300 kg) block of marble in Carrara, Italy. 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 Exposition in 1893. The detailed busts are surrounded by rough-hewn marble at the top of the sculpture. This part of the statue, according to some, is left unfinished representing the unfinished work of women's rights. Contrary to a popular story, the intention was not that it be completed upon the ascension of the first female President — the rough-hewn section is too small to carry a proportional bust. 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. Shortly after its unveiling, however, the statue was moved into the Capitol Crypt. It remained on display there for 75 years, until HCR 216 ordered it moved to the Rotunda. The statue was placed in its current location, in the Rotunda, in May 1997.[23]
In addition to the National Statuary Hall Collection and the memorial statuary, there are a number of other pieces in the Rotunda. Next to the south entrance, opposite the statue of George Washington, is a bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence. Sculpted by David d'Angers, it was donated by Uriah P. Levy and is the only work of art in the Capitol given by a private donor.[24]
The main difference between lying in state and lying in honor is whether the person was an elected official or military officer versus being a private citizen. The designated guard of honor that keeps watch over the casket also differs. When a person lies in state, a guard of honor from the United States Armed Forces watches over the casket; when a person lies in honor, the United States Capitol Police watches as a civilian guard of honor over the casket.[citation needed]
Lain in state
Government officials and military officers to have lain in state in the Capitol rotunda are as follows:[25]
^"Facts About $2 Notes." Bureau of Engraving and Printing, United States Department of the Treasury. [1]Archived October 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^Anthony Grafton; Glenn W. Most; Salvatore Settis, eds. (2010). The Classical Tradition(PDF). Harvard University Press. p. 764. ISBN978-0-674-03572-0. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Likewise still visible, in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., is the decorative program conceived and executed in the mid-19th century by Constantino Brumidi, which comprises one of the most creative modern combinations of Pompeian compositional style with images of national import. Beginning in 1856, Brumidi, an Italian painter well versed in the classical tradition, engaged a large workforce of decorative fresco painters to execute along the corridors and in the committee chambers of the Senate wing his designs combining illusionistic architecture and intricate ornamentation in Fourth Style format to frame significant scenes from American history often modeled upon the work of such Neoclassical painters as Benjamin West. Although some critics have characterized the installation's heavy-duty Victorian classicism as retrograde, it does appear symbolically reflective of the eminence of the senior American legislative body.
^U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Comittee(PDF). Vol. 108. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office (published June 14, 2004). 2004. pp. 6–10. OCLC1158205916. ark:/13960/t1fj71m36. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Excerpt describing Constantino Brumidi's contributions to the decorations in the U.S. Capitol.