Constantino Brumidi
Constantino Brumidi (born July 26, 1805 in Rome , † February 19, 1880 in Washington, DC ) was an Italian-American painter. His most famous work is the fresco The Apotheosis of Washington in the top of the dome of the rotunda of the United States Capitol .
Youth and work in Italy
Brumidi was born in Rome as the son of the Greek Stavro Brumidi and an Italian woman . His artistic talent showed up early on. As a youth he painted frescoes in various Roman palaces, including that of Prince Alessandro Torlonia . Under Pope Gregory XVI. Brumidi worked in the Vatican for three years .
Emigration and Working in the United States
The military occupation of the city of Rome by the armed forces of the French Republic in 1849 prompted Brumidi to emigrate to the United States , where he received US citizenship in 1852. Brumidi moved into an apartment in New York and continued his artistic work. At first he concentrated on painting portraits ; then he returned to fresco painting and created works in New York's St. Stephen's Church (Our Lady of the Scapular ) and the Taylor's Chapel in Baltimore .
In 1854 Brumidi went to Mexico , where he painted an allegorical representation of the Holy Trinity in the Cathedral of Mexico City . On the way back to New York, he paused in Washington, DC and visited the US Capitol. Impressed by the possibilities of artistic decoration on the large interior walls, he offered his services to Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs . He accepted, and from then on Brumidi, now an officer of the cavalry, worked in the Capitol.
His first work of art in the Capitol was the artistic design of the conference room for the Agriculture Committee. Initially, he was paid $ 8 a day, but this payment was quickly increased to $ 10 at the initiative of then Secretary of Defense Jefferson Davis . He also received further commissions in recognition of his achievements and was appointed official government painter.
His most famous works are the fresco The Apotheosis of Washington in the top of the dome of the rotunda of the US Capitol, the Brumidi Corridors in the Senate wing and the frieze of American history in the US Capitol. In the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia he also depicted Saint Peter and Saint Paul. In 1856 he traveled to Baltimore and delivered a painting about the vision of La Storta for the Ignatius Church there .
Brumidi died in Washington, DC in 1880 from the aftermath of a fall while creating the Frieze of American History .
Web links
- Constantino Brumidi: Il Michelangelo Del Capitol (Italian) - Dossena, Tiziano Thomas, L'Idea Magazine N.24, 2nd edition, 2005, New York
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1] ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Lois Zanow, Sally Johnston: Monuments to Heaven: Baltimore's Historic Houses of Worship . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Brumidi, Constantino |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian-American painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 26, 1805 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rome |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 19, 1880 |
| Place of death | Washington, DC |