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Pendentives in Main Dome of Wisconsin State Capitol, (painting)

Catalog Data

Painter:
Cox, Kenyon 1856-1919  Search this
Type:
Paintings-Mural
Paintings
Owner/Location:
Wisconsin State Capitol Rotunda Dome Madison Wisconsin
Date:
Ca. 1916
Notes:
Brochure of the Mural Painters, a National Society Founded 1895, New York: the Kalkhoff Company, 1916.
"Heroes in the fight for beauty: the muralists of the Hudson County Court House," Jersey City: Jersey City Museum, 1986, pg. 95.
Wisconsin State Capitol Guide and History, 29th ed., State of Wisconsin (booklet), pg. 19-21.
Summary:
Over the piers and between the four arches in the rotunda are pendentive brackets, which make the transition from the octagonal form of the rotunda to the circular form of the dome above. The pedentives are decorated with four glass mosaic mural panels. Each pendentive has a colossal seated figure against a gold background, surrounded by a circular border adorned with fasces and oak foliage. The four figures symbolize the three divisions of the powers of the State --the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial, plus Liberty. Legislative power is an old man with a long beard, his left hand resting on the tables of the law, while his right hand holds a stylus. He wears a yellow gown and a blue mantle. Executive power is a young man holding a staff in his right hand, his left hand resting on a sword. He wears a buff leather cuirass ornamented in gold, a scarlet tunic, and a crimson cloak. Judicial power is a female figure seated on a lion throne, the scales of justice in front of her. She wears scarlet and purple robes. Liberty is a female figure, her right hand guarding the ballot box and her left hand pointed upward toward heaven. She wears a traditional red cap and green robes.
Topic:
Figure group  Search this
Allegory--Civic--Liberty  Search this
Allegory--Civic--Democracy  Search this
Allegory--Civic--Law  Search this
Control number:
IAP 86130149
Data Source:
Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_ari_231966