Library of Congress 10 1st Street, S.E Rotunda Reading Room, dome Washington District of Columbia 20540
Date:
1895-1896
Notes:
"Heroes in the fight for beauty: the muralists of the Hudson County Court House," Jersey City: Jersey City Museum, 1986, no. 3.
Small, Herbert, "The Library of Congress: its architecture and decoration," New York: Norton, 1982, pg. 102-111.
Exh. Catalog, "Art for Architecture," NCFA, Washington, DC, 1975.
Brochure of the Mural Painters, a National Society Founded 1895, New York: the Kalkhoff Company, 1916.
Weiner, Mina Rieur, ed., "Edwin Howland Blashfield: Master American Muralist," New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company, 2009, pg. 31.
Summary:
In the lantern of the dome, a female figure representing Human Understanding floats in the sky. She lifts her veil and looks upward Two cherubs are at her side. One holds a book of wisdom and knowledge. The other looks downward. In the collar of the dome, which encircles the lantern, are twelve seated figures against a wall of mosaic patterning. They represent the twelve countries, or epochs, which have contributed to the development of civilization. Beside each figure is a tablet with the name of the country typified and below that is a streamer with that country's contribution. The wings of each figure overlap. The figures represent: Egypt (Written Records); Judea (Religion); Greece (Philosophy); Rome (Administration); Islam (Physics); The Middle Ages (Modern Languages); Italy (Fine Arts); Germany (Art of Printing); Spain (Discovery); England (Literature); France (Emancipation); America (Science).
