FRENCH SCULPTURE CENSUS / RÉPERTOIRE DE SCULPTURE FRANÇAISE
BARTLETT, Paul Wayland New Haven, Connecticut, United States 1865 - Paris 1925
Apothéose de la Démocratie, modèle en plâtre du fronton, partie droite Apotheosis of Democracy Pediment, plaster model, right section 1916 plaster relief
Acc. No.: Credit Line: Given to the United States Government by Mrs. Armistead Peter III
Photo credit: ph. Architect of the Capitol © Artist :
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States Capitol / US Senate www.visitthecapitol.gov
Provenance
(Pediment: 1911-1914, Bartlett modeled the figures in Paris, France, and Washington, D.C. 1914-1916, they were carved in Georgia White marble by the Piccirilli Brothers of New York City) Plaster model: The three sections of the plaster models from which the pediment was carved were given to the United States Government in March 1963 by Mrs. Armistead Peter III, a stepdaughter of the artist. They are displayed in the Capitol terminal of the subway leading to the Rayburn House Office Building. Bibliography
Architect of the Capitol's website, http://www.aoc.gov/capitol-hill/other-sculpture/apotheosis- democracy-pediment, 9 February 2016
1978 Capitol Art in the United States Capitol, prepared by the Architect of the Capitol, under the direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, Washington, United States Government Printing Office, 1978, p. 362
Comment
Architect of the Capitol website (accessed 9 February 2016): "Peace Protecting Genius," an allegorical group consisting of two figures, fills the center of the pediment. An armed female figure representing Peace stands erect, draped in a mantle that almost completely hides her breastplate and coat of mail. Her left arm rests on her buckler, which is supported by the altar at her side. In the background is the olive tree of peace. Her right arm is extended in a gesture of protection over the youthful winged figure of Genius, who nestles confidently at her feet and holds in his right hand a torch symbolizing immortality. The composition is completed by figures representing two great sources of wealth. To the left of the central group, Industry is represented by (from right to left) a printer and his press, an ironworker, foundry workers pouring molten metal, a textile spinner at her wheel, and a boy catching a fish. To the right of the central group, Agriculture is represented by (from left to right) a youth, a reaper, a husbandman (agriculturist) with an ox, a woman and children harvesting a field, and a ram and a lamb. Waves at either end of the sculpture symbolize the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Paul Wayland Bartlett (1865-1925) modeled the figures in Paris, France, and Washington, D.C., in 1911-1914. They were carved in Georgia White marble by the Piccirilli Brothers of New York City in 1914-1916. The entire pediment is 80 feet long, its height at the center is approximately 12 feet and the length of the sculpture is approximately 60 feet. The three sections of the plaster models from which the pediment was carved were given to the United States Government in March 1963 by Mrs. Armistead Peter III, a stepdaughter of the artist. They are displayed in the Capitol terminal of the subway leading to the Rayburn House Office Building.