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Have you stepped inside the Library of Congress?
Posted on: November 9, 2019 at 10:11:23 CT
Ace AU
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There is a greater world and history than you seem to appropriate have forgotten
Adorning the East Corridor are six lunettes by John White Alexander that depict The Evolution of the Book. The subjects are, at the south end, the Cairn, Oral Tradition, and Egyptian Hieroglyphics; and, at the north end, Picture Writing, the Manuscript Book, and the Printing Press.
In the vault mosaics, at the ends and along the sides, are ten trophies, each with symbols representing one of the arts or sciences. Below each are the surnames of two native-born Americans associated with that art or science. Beginning on the east wall and reading left to right, they are: MATHEMATICS (Peirce and Bowditch), ASTRONOMY (Bond and Rittenhouse), ENGINEERING (Francis and Stevens), NATURAL PHILOSOPHY (Silliman and Cooke), ARCHITECTURE (Latrobe and Walter), MUSIC (Mason and Gottschalk), PAINTING (Stuart and Allston), SCULPTURE (Powers and Crawford), POETRY (Emerson and Holmes), and NATURAL SCIENCE (Say and Dana).
https://www.loc.gov/loc/walls/jeff1.html
The Ceiling
The names of ten great authors can be seen on tablets above the Great Hall's semicircular latticed windows in the vaulted cove of the ceiling. Beginning on the east and proceeding clockwise, the names are DANTE, HOMER, MILTON, BACON, ARISTOTLE, GOETHE, SHAKESPEARE, MOLIERE, MOSES, and HERODOTUS. The names of eight more authors are inscribed in gilt letters on tablets beneath the second-story cartouches on the east and west sides of the hall. Beginning on the east and reading left to right, the authors are CERVANTES, HUGO, SCOTT, COOPER, LONGFELLOW, TENNYSON, GIBBON, and BANCROFT.
The Staircases
The two great staircases flanking the Great Hall are embellished by elaborate and varied sculptural work by Philip Martiny. At the base of each is a bronze female figure wearing classic drapery and holding a torch of knowledge. They are signed "P H Martiny, sculptor NY"; the foundry's name is also inscribed at the base. Each stair railing is decorated with a fanciful series of cherubs carved by Martiny in white marble. In a niche on the north side is a plaster bust of Thomas Jefferson and on the south is a bronze bust of George Washington; both are copied from works by the sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon. The balustrade on each side of the top landing contains Martiny's figures of cherubs modeled to represent the fine arts. At the north landing, they are Painting, Architecture, and Sculpture; at the south landing, Comedy, Poetry, and Tragedy.
The cherubs in the ascending railing of each staircase--according to Small's Handbook--represent "the various occupations, habits, and pursuits of modern life." The series begins at the bottom with the figure of a stork. Then, on the north side of the hall, are figures of a Gardener, with a spade and a rake; an Entomologist, capturing butterflies; a Student poring over a text; a Printer, with typefaces, a type case, and a press. Halfway up the railing, on the same level, are cherubs representing Asia and Europe. Next comes a Musician; a Physician, mortar and pestle in hand; and an Electrician holding a telephone receiver at his ear and, Small writes, "with a star of electric rays shining on his brow." At the top of the railing is an Astronomer with a telescope.
In the staircase railing on the south side of the Great Hall, beginning at the bottom, the figures are a Mechanic with a cogwheel and pincers; a Hunter, with a gun, hoisting a rabbit he has just shot; a Vintner dressed like Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, holding a goblet; a Farmer with a sickle and a sheaf of wheat. Halfway up the railing are cherubs representing Africa and America. Next comes a Fisherman; a Soldier, a Chemist, with a blowpipe; and, last but not least, a Cook.
Adorning the East Corridor are six lunettes by John White Alexander that depict The Evolution of the Book. The subjects are, at the south end, the Cairn, Oral Tradition, and Egyptian Hieroglyphics; and, at the north end, Picture Writing, the Manuscript Book, and the Printing Press.
In the vault mosaics, at the ends and along the sides, are ten trophies, each with symbols representing one of the arts or sciences. Below each are the surnames of two native-born Americans associated with that art or science. Beginning on the east wall and reading left to right, they are: MATHEMATICS (Peirce and Bowditch), ASTRONOMY (Bond and Rittenhouse), ENGINEERING (Francis and Stevens), NATURAL PHILOSOPHY (Silliman and Cooke), ARCHITECTURE (Latrobe and Walter), MUSIC (Mason and Gottschalk), PAINTING (Stuart and Allston), SCULPTURE (Powers and Crawford), POETRY (Emerson and Holmes), and NATURAL SCIENCE (Say and Dana).
https://www.loc.gov/loc/walls/jeff1.html
The Ceiling
The names of ten great authors can be seen on tablets above the Great Hall's semicircular latticed windows in the vaulted cove of the ceiling. Beginning on the east and proceeding clockwise, the names are DANTE, HOMER, MILTON, BACON, ARISTOTLE, GOETHE, SHAKESPEARE, MOLIERE, MOSES, and HERODOTUS. The names of eight more authors are inscribed in gilt letters on tablets beneath the second-story cartouches on the east and west sides of the hall. Beginning on the east and reading left to right, the authors are CERVANTES, HUGO, SCOTT, COOPER, LONGFELLOW, TENNYSON, GIBBON, and BANCROFT.
The Staircases
The two great staircases flanking the Great Hall are embellished by elaborate and varied sculptural work by Philip Martiny. At the base of each is a bronze female figure wearing classic drapery and holding a torch of knowledge. They are signed "P H Martiny, sculptor NY"; the foundry's name is also inscribed at the base. Each stair railing is decorated with a fanciful series of cherubs carved by Martiny in white marble. In a niche on the north side is a plaster bust of Thomas Jefferson and on the south is a bronze bust of George Washington; both are copied from works by the sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon. The balustrade on each side of the top landing contains Martiny's figures of cherubs modeled to represent the fine arts. At the north landing, they are Painting, Architecture, and Sculpture; at the south landing, Comedy, Poetry, and Tragedy.
The cherubs in the ascending railing of each staircase--according to Small's Handbook--represent "the various occupations, habits, and pursuits of modern life." The series begins at the bottom with the figure of a stork. Then, on the north side of the hall, are figures of a Gardener, with a spade and a rake; an Entomologist, capturing butterflies; a Student poring over a text; a Printer, with typefaces, a type case, and a press. Halfway up the railing, on the same level, are cherubs representing Asia and Europe. Next comes a Musician; a Physician, mortar and pestle in hand; and an Electrician holding a telephone receiver at his ear and, Small writes, "with a star of electric rays shining on his brow." At the top of the railing is an Astronomer with a telescope.
In the staircase railing on the south side of the Great Hall, beginning at the bottom, the figures are a Mechanic with a cogwheel and pincers; a Hunter, with a gun, hoisting a rabbit he has just shot; a Vintner dressed like Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, holding a goblet; a Farmer with a sickle and a sheaf of wheat. Halfway up the railing are cherubs representing Africa and America. Next comes a Fisherman; a Soldier, a Chemist, with a blowpipe; and, last but not least, a Cook.
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Have you stepped inside the Library of Congress? - Ace A - 11/9 10:11:23