St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1896-08-29
WASHINGTON IN MARBLE
A Short History Of Horatio Green
ough's Statue.
Critics and Connoisseurs Consider, 1t
Inartistic and Ridiculous, But
the People Seem to
Like 1t,
Especial washington Letter.


Especial Washington letter.
On the grand plaza extending along
the east front of the Capitol building
directly opposite the central grand
marble staircase is the eGreenough statue
of Washington. Visitors study it as
work of art, or carelessly pass it by
without giving it thought beyond the
feeting moment occupied in casual sur
vey. ~
The statue is meritorious, but there
is much of demerit in it to the eye of
an experienced art connolsseur. As
matter of fact, there is little artistic
merit in the statues thus far erected
here, and there is less artistic merit
in the paintings which hang upon the
walls Of the Capitol building. The large
paintings in the rotunda, representing
the landing of the pilgrims, the discoy-
cry of the Mississippi, the signing Of
the declaration of independence and the
surrender of CORVALLIS are not works
of art, but daubs.
But the Greenough statue has his
tory. 1t is sculptured from soft Italian
marble. and is mounted on granite
pedestal eight feet high. The statue is
fen feet in height, and represents the
father of his country as a Jupiter
Tonans in sitting posture. The figure
is naked to the waist, and thence a
Roman toga falls gracefully, covering
the legs and knees, exposing the feet
bound in sandals of most ancient pat
tern. The right arm is elevated, the
index finger pointing to the meridian,
and the right hand holds sheathed
sword. Art critics commend the artist
Tor the likeness of Washington, for the
head is modelled after the painting and
molding of Houdon, the great French
master of the last century. But the
conception of Washington in a Roman
toga, with sandals on his feet. is re
garded generally us a historical an
achronism which ought never to have
been perpetrated. The work is also
subjected to severe criticism for the
further development of the Roman idea,
in that on the left side of the dais there
is a bass relief of Apollo, the sun god,
driving his chariot steeds across the
heavens, while on the right side there
is representation of Hercules strang-
ling the serpents. s
Critics also point to the marble figures
CT an Indian warrior and Christopher
Columbus on the sides of the seat, thus
IMPLYING Washington in Roman garb,
with my thical gods and demigods, with
the discoverer of the fifteenth century
and the aboriginal American of the
seventeenth century. Altogether, the
combination of artistic work is desery-
ing of the destructive criticisms which
have been passed upon ii.
Dom Piatt, when publishing his free
lance paper called the Sunday Capital,
referred to the statue caustically, say
ing: "Poor George Washington sits
out in front of the capitol without any
clothing in all sorts of weather, while
| full suit of his clothes is locked up in
n glass case in the patent Office"
| The artist had hard time of it, and
| the delays which occurred between the
conception of the design, its accept
ance by the government, the meager ap-
preparations and its final unveiliDg, all
most drove the sculptor insane. When
completed the statue was subjected TO
violent criticism by the men of that
| day and at the same time received en-
comiums from artists of renown. some
of them comparing it favorably
with the masterpieces of Athens and
! Rome.
On August Z, 1888, the continental
congress, in session at Philadelphia,
passed o resolution authorizing the
erection of "a bronze equestrian statue
ct Gen. Washington at the place where
the residence of the congress shall be
| established, to express in durable form