The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."
The rotunda is surrounded by corridors connecting the House of Representatives and Senate sides of the Capitol. To the south of the rotunda is the semi-circular National Statuary Hall, which until 1857 was the House of Representatives chamber. The northeast of the Rotunda is the Old Senate Chamber, used by the Senate until 1859.
The Rotunda is 96 feet (29 m) in diameter and rises 180 feet 3 inches (54.94 m) to the canopy, and is visited by thousands of people each day. It is also used for ceremonial events authorized by concurrent resolution, including the lying in state of honored people.
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The doctor and architect William Thornton was the winner of the contest to design the Capitol in 1793. Thornton had first conceived the idea of a central rotunda. However, due to lack of funds or resources, oft-interrupted construction, and the British attack on Washington during the War of 1812, work on the rotunda did not begin until 1818. The rotunda was completed in 1824 under Architect of the Capitol Charles Bulfinch, as part of a series of new buildings and projects in preparation for the final visit of Marquis de Lafayette in 1824. The rotunda was designed in the neoclassical style and was intended to evoke the design of the Pantheon.
The sandstone rotunda walls rise 48 feet (15 m) above the floor; everything above this—the Capitol dome–was designed in 1854 by Thomas U. Walter, the fourth Architect of the Capitol. Walter had also designed the Capitol's north and south extensions. Work on the dome began in 1856, and in 1859, Walter redesigned the rotunda to consist of an inner and outer dome, with a canopy suspended between them that would be visible through an oculus at the top of the inner dome. In 1862, Walter asked painter Constantino Brumidi to design "a picture 65 feet (20 m) in diameter, painted in fresco, on the concave canopy over the eye of the New Dome of the U.S. Capitol." At this time, Brumidi may have added a watercolor canopy design over Walter's tentative 1859 sketch. The dome was being finished in the middle of the American Civil War and was constructed from fireproof cast iron. During the Civil War, the rotunda was used as a military hospital for Union soldiers. The dome was finally completed in 1866.
The Apotheosis of Washington (1865) is the very large fresco painted by a Greek artist Constantino Brumidi in the dome of the rotunda. Brumidi, who left northern Greece at an early age, immigrated to Italy and worked for three years in the Vatican under Pope Gregory XVI and served several aristocrats as an artist for palaces and villas, including the prince Torlonia, before immigrating to the United States in 1852, spent much of the last 25 years of his life working in the Capitol and dedicating much of his female based artwork off the love of his life Lola, who married him at the age of 18 in 1855. In addition to the Apotheosis of Washington he designed the Brumidi Corridors. On February 19, 1880, at 6:30 AM, while reaching up the steps of one of the platforms he was painting on, Brumidi fell from fatigue and could not move his extremities upon hitting the floor. Suffering from years of ailments, spending most of his salary on medication and depression after his wife Lola left him, Brumidi passed away.
The "Frieze of American History" is painted to appear as a carved stone bas-relief frieze but is actually a trompe-l'œil fresco cycle depicting 19 scenes from American history. The "frieze" occupies a band immediately below the 36 windows. Brumidi designed the frieze and prepared a sketch in 1859 but did not begin painting until 1878. Brumidi painted seven and a half scenes. While working on "William Penn and the Indians," Brumidi fell off the scaffolding and held on to a rail for 15 minutes until he was rescued. He died a few months later in 1880. After Brumidi's death, Filippo Costaggini was commissioned to complete the eight and a half remaining scenes in Brumidi's sketches. He finished in 1889 and left a 31-foot (9 m) gap due to an error in Brumidi's original design. In 1951, Allyn Cox completed the frieze.
Except for the last three panels named by Allyn Cox, the scenes have no particular titles and many variant titles have been given. The names given here are the names used by the Architect of the Capitol, which uses the names that Brumidi used most frequently in his letters and that were used in Edward Clark and by newspaper articles. The 19 panels are:
| Scene | Description |
|---|---|
| America and History
This is the first panel and the only allegorical one, portraying a personification of America, wearing a liberty cap, with spear and shield in the center, surrounded by other allegorical figures. To the right is an Indian maiden with a bow and arrows, representing the wild North American continent. At America's feet is a the female personification of History, with a stone tablet to record events. To the left of History is an eagle, perched on a fasces, the ancient Roman bundle of birch rods symbolizing authority. To the left of America is another eagle, carrying the olive branch of peace. To the center-left in the background is a man in same pose as the prospector at the end of "Discovery of Gold in California"; this is because Brumidi planned to have the scene connect with his planned last one. |
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| Landing of Columbus
Christopher Columbus is depicting arriving in the Americas in the first of four scenes of the Spanish conquest. Columbus disembarks off a plank from the Santa María. His crew, armed with weapons, stays aboard; one crew member has a spyglass. Native Americans are portrayed greeting Columbus. Indian women and children are shown, along with native warriors to the right. The Columbus figure may have been based on Luigi Persico statue of Columbus, which was at the time of the painting the on the east central steps of the Capitol. |
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| Cortez and Montezuma at Mexican Temple
This panel shows the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés entering an Aztec temple, being welcomed by Moctezuma II. At the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Moctezuma and the Aztecs honored Cortés as a god, believing that he was the returning god Quetzalcoatl. The Aztec sun stone and cult images are based on sketches drawn by Brumidi in Mexico City. |
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| Pizarro Going to Peru
Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro is depicted leading his horse through the jungle in search of El Dorado, the mythical land of gold, in this representation of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. |
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| Burial of DeSoto
This panel depict the burial of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in the Mississippi River after his death from a fever. De Soto has led the largest European expedition of both 15th and 16th centuries through the Southeast and Midwest searching for gold, silver, and other valuables. |
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| Captain Smith and Pocahontas
Pocahontas is portrayed saving Captain John Smith, one of the founders of Jamestown, Virginia, from being clubbed to death. |
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| Landing of the Pilgrims
Pilgrims led by William Brewster give thanks to God for their safe voyage in this scene depicting Plymouth Colony. |
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| William Penn and the Indians
Quaker leader and Province of Pennsylvania founder William Penn is depicted with Lenape (Delaware) Native Americans under the elm tree at Shackamaxon. This is the last panel on which Brumidi worked. |
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| Colonization of New England
This panel shows New England settlers busily logging, sawing, and using lumber to construct a building. This is the first scene painted entirely by Filippo Costaggini. |
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| Oglethorpe and the Indians
James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia Colony and first Georgia governor, is shown with the Muskogee (Creek) leaders in Savannah, Georgia. The Muskogee present Oglethorpe with a buffalo skin with an eagle in the center, a symbol of friendship and trust. |
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| Battle of Lexington
This panel depicts the "shot heard 'round the world" at the Battle of Lexington, the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War. Major John Pitcairn is shown on horseback at center, with British Army or Royal Marines troops to the right and Lexington militiamen at left. |
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| Declaration of Independence
Idealized depiction of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, authors of the Declaration of Independence, reading the declaration to celebrating colonists. |
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| Surrender of Cornwallis
Depiction of George Washington on horseback receiving the ceremonial sword of surrender from Charles O'Hara, who represented Lord Cornwallis after the final British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown. In reality, it is thought that Washington declined O'Hara's sword because according to the custom of the time it would only be proper for Washington to receive the sword from Cornwallis himself; Major General Benjamin Lincoln instead accepted the sword. |
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| Death of Tecumseh
This panel depicts the death of Shawnee chief and Indian Confederation leader Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada during the War of 1812 (partially an extension of Tecumseh's War). |
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| American Army Entering the City of Mexico.
U.S. Army troops led by Winfield Scott enter Mexico City after the fall of Mexico City, which ended the Mexican-American War with a decisive American victory. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which provided for the massive Mexican Cession of territory in what is now the Western United States. |
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| Discovery of Gold in California
Prospectors dig and pan for gold with picks, shovels, and other tools in this depiction of the California Gold Rush. In the center, three men (one possibly representing John Sutter) examine a prospector's pan. This was the last scene designed by Brumidi and painted by Costaggini. |
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| Peace at the End of the Civil War
This scene, the first of Allyn Cox's three panels, depicts a Confederate soldier and a Union soldier shaking hands at the end of the American Civil War, symbolizing reconciliation and reunification. The cotton plant and the Northern pine tree symbolize the South and the North. |
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| Naval Gun Crew in the Spanish-American War
A group of United States Navy sailors in a gun crew are depicted in a naval battle during the Spanish–American War. and the United States won a victory over Spain in the war. The 1898 Treaty of Paris provided for Cuba's independence from Spain and the American acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. |
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| The Birth of Aviation.
This scene depicts the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. The Wright Flyer is shown just off the ground, with Orville Wright in the plane and Wilbur Wright running alongside to steady the wing. To the left are Leonardo da Vinci, Samuel Pierpont Langley, and Octave Chanute, other aviation pioneers, holding models of earlier designs for the first flying machine. An eagle holds an olive branch in the bottom right. |
Eight niches in the rotunda hold large, framed historical paintings. All are oil-on-canvas and measure 12 by 18 feet (3.6 m by 5.5 m). Four of these are scenes from the American Revolution, painted by John Trumbull, who was commissioned by Congress to do the work in 1817. These are Declaration of Independence, Surrender of General Burgoyne, Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and General George Washington Resigning his Commission. These were placed between 1819 and 1824. Between 1840 and 1855, four more paintings were added. These depicted the exploration and colonization of America and were all done by different artists. These paintings are Landing of Columbus by John Vanderlyn, Discovery of the Mississippi by William Henry Powell, Baptism of Pocahontas by John Gadsby Chapman, and Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert Walter Weir.
| Artist | John Trumbull |
|---|---|
| Year | 1819 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 365.76 cm × 548.64 cm (144.00 in × 216.00 in) |
| Location | Capitol rotunda, Washington, D.C. |
Declaration of Independence was the first painting that Trumbull completed for the rotunda. An iconic image and probably the most widely recognized of the paintings in the rotunda, the painting was commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819 and placed in 1826.[1]
The painting depicts John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, Benjamin Franklin, and the principal author, Thomas Jefferson—members of the Committee of Five, which drafted the Declaration of Independence—presenting the declaration to the Second Continental Congress and President John Hancock in July 1776 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.[2]
The painting is not completely historically accurate and is somewhat anachronistic. Of the 56 signers of the Declaration off Independence, 42 are represented; the rest are absent, possibly because they were not present at the adoption of the Declaration of Independence or had died by the time of Trumbull's painting. Four are included who did not sign the declaration but whom Trumbull found worthy also: George Clinton, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Willing, and John Dickinson.[3] A reproduction of it appears on the United States two-dollar bill.[4]
| Artist | John Trumbull |
|---|---|
| Year | 1822 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 365.76 cm × 548.64 cm (144.00 in × 216.00 in) |
| Location | Capitol rotunda, Washington, D.C. |
Surrender of General Burgoyne was also commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1822, and placed in 1826. It depicts the surrender of British soldiers under General John Burgoyne after the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. This battle was a key victory for the Americans, prevented the division of New England, and secured French military assistance to the Americans.
The central figure, from the Continental Army, is General Horatio Gates, who refused to accept the traditional sword, of surrender, offered by Burgoyne. Instead, treating his former foe as a gentleman, General Gates invited General Burgoyne into his tent. The other Americans, shown to the right, are other officers serving in the Continental Army during the time.
Trumbull planned this outdoor scene to contrast with Declaration of Independence (above), displayed beside it on the wall of the U.S. Capitol rotunda.[5] Both paintings show large groups of people, but one is an indoor scene, while the other is an outdoor scene of similar perspective.
| Artist | John Trumbull |
|---|---|
| Year | 1820 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 365.76 cm × 548.64 cm (144.00 in × 216.00 in) |
| Location | Capitol rotunda, Washington, D.C. |
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis was also commissioned in 1817 but placed in 1820. It depicts the final surrender of the British after the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, in which a combined American-French force led by George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Comte de Rochambeau over British troops under Lord Cornwallis. The surrender led to the cessation of major Revolutionary War hostilities and British recognition of American independence in the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
The scene here depicts the same event as the "Surrender of Cornwallis" panel of the "Frieze of American History." American General Benjamin Lincoln is portrayed at the center of the painting riding a white horse, with French officers on the left and Americans on the right, led by Washington on the brown horse. The British were represented by officers, but Lord Cornwallis himself was not present and was represented instead by Charles O'Hara. As noted above, Washington declined O'Hara's sword because according to the custom of the time it would only be proper from Washington to receive the sword from Cornwallis himself; Major Lincoln accepted the sword in Washington's place. Trumbull was proud of the fact that he had painted portraits of the French officers while in France and included a small self-portrait of himself under the American flag on the right side of the painting.[6]
| Artist | John Trumbull |
|---|---|
| Year | 1824 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 365.76 cm × 548.64 cm (144.00 in × 216.00 in) |
| Location | Capitol rotunda, Washington, D.C. |
General George Washington Resigning his Commission was commissioned in 1817 and placed in 1824. It depicts George Washington addressing Congress to resign his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, on December 23, 1783.
The U.S. Congress, at the time, was meeting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. This celebrated incident established a strong tradition of civilian control of the military in the United States and the rejection of military dictatorship in favor of liberal democracy.
Washington is depicted along with two aides-de-camp, as he addresses the president of the Congress. Also shown in the painting are Thomas Mifflin, Elbridge Gerry, and three future U.S. presidents: Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and James Madison. His wife, Martha Washington, and her three grandchildren, are shown watching from the gallery section (balcony area at right), although they were not in fact present at Washington's resignation.[7]
| Artist | John Vanderlyn |
|---|---|
| Year | 1847 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 365.76 cm × 548.64 cm (144.00 in × 216.00 in) |
| Location | Capitol rotunda, Washington, D.C. |
Landing of Columbus was commissioned in 1836/1837 and placed in 1847. Painted
by John Vanderlyn, it depicts Christopher Columbus landing in the West Indies, on San Salvador Island (Guanahani), on October 12, 1492.
In the foreground, Christopher Columbus raises the royal banner to claim the land for Spain, and he stands bareheaded with his hat at his feet in honor of the sanctity of the event. The captains of the ships Niña and Pinta follow, carrying the banner of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. The crew displays a range of emotions, and some search for gold in the sand. Nearby, natives watch from behind a tree at the right.[8]
| Artist | William H. Powell |
|---|---|
| Year | 1847 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 365.76 cm × 548.64 cm (144.00 in × 216.00 in) |
| Location | Capitol rotunda, Washington, D.C. |
Discovery of the Mississippi was the last painting to be commissioned by Congress for the rotunda. William H. Powell was given the commission in 1847, and the painting was finally purchased in 1855. At the center of the canvas, Spanish navigator and conquistador Hernando de Soto is seen riding a white horse. De Soto is thought to have become the first European to see the Mississippi River in 1541.
The painting depicts de Soto and his troops approaching Native Americans in front of tepees, with a chief holding a peace pipe. The foreground is filled by weapons and soldiers to represent the devastating battle at Mauvila (or Mabila), in which de Soto suffered a Pyrrhic victory over Choctaws under Tuscaloosa. To the right, a monk prays as a large crucifix is set into the ground.[9]
| Artist | John Gadsby Chapman |
|---|---|
| Year | 1840 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 365.76 cm × 548.64 cm (144.00 in × 216.00 in) |
| Location | Capitol rotunda, Washington, D.C. |
Baptism of Pocahontas was painted by John Gadsby Chapman, given the commission in 1837. The painting was placed in 1840. It depicts Pocahontas in white as she is baptized (under the name "Rebecca") by the Anglican priest Alexander Whiteaker in Jamestown, Virginia. This event is believed to have taken place in 1613 or 1614.
Pocahontas kneels, surrounded by family members, including her father, Chief Powhatan, and colonists. Her brother Nantequaus turns away from the ceremony. The baptism occurred before her marriage to Englishman John Rolfe who stands behind her. Their union is said to be the first recorded marriage between a European and a Native American. The scene symbolizes the belief of some Americans at the time that native tribes should accept Christianity and other European customs of the period.
| Artist | Robert W. Weir |
|---|---|
| Year | 1844 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 365.76 cm × 548.64 cm (144.00 in × 216.00 in) |
| Location | Capitol rotunda, Washington, D.C. |
Embarkation of the Pilgrims was also commissioned in 1837 and placed in 1844. Painted by Robert W. Weir, it depicts the Pilgrims on the deck of the ship Speedwell as they depart Delfshaven in South Holland on July 22, 1620. The Pilgrims traveled aboard the Speedwell to Southampton. There they met additional colonists and transferred to the Mayflower.
The painting shows William Brewster, holding the Bible, and pastor John Robinson leading Governor Carver, William Bradford, Miles Standish, and their families in prayer. The rainbow, at the left side of the painting, symbolizes hope and divine protection.[10]
Among the group of eleven statues currently encircling the rotunda against the wall at floor level are five from the National Statuary Hall collection:
These five presidents will remain in the rotunda indefinitely or until an act of Congress.
In 1784, the Virginia General Assembly commissioned a statue of George Washington "to be of the finest marble and the best workmanship." Thomas Jefferson, then ambassador to France, recommended that Jean-Antoine Houdon, the most famous sculptor of the day, execute the work. Beginning in the late summer of 1785, Houdon along with three assistants stayed at Mount Vernon, taking detailed measurements of Washington's arms, legs, hands and chest and making a mold of his face. Although work began after Houdon returned to Paris later that year, the statue was not completed and shipped to the United States until 1796, when it was installed in the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. During the 1850s, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the casting of 11 bronze copies of the monument. Additional copies were cast in the 20th century, including 22 by the Gorham Company. Bronze copies are located in Northern Ireland, the National Gallery in London, the Corcoran Gallery and Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute in Chicago, the quad at George Washington University, the rotunda of Alumni Hall at Miami University, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Gutzon Borglum had a fascination with large scale art and themes of heroic nationalism. His head of Abraham Lincoln, carved from a six-ton block of marble, was exhibited in Theodore Roosevelt's White House and is now residing in the Crypt below the Rotunda. Borglum was a patriot, believing that the "monuments we have built are not our own," he looked to create art that was "American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement" according to a 1908 interview article. Supposedly, according to legend, the marble head remains unfinished (missing a left ear) to symbolize Lincoln's unfinished life.
James Garfield, was the last American president to be born in a log cabin. Sculptor Niehaus returned to America in 1881 and by virtue of being a native Ohioan was commissioned to sculpt a monument to the recently assassinated President James Garfield, who was also from Ohio.
The bust of his head and shoulders is 36 inches (91 cm) high and stands on a pyramidal Belgian black marble base that is 66 inches (168 cm) high. Because the bust would be such an important and visible work of art, the Joint Committee on the Library decided to have a national competition to select a sculptor.
On December 21, 1982, the Congress passed House Concurrent Resolution 153, which directed the procurement of a marble bust "to serve to memorialize King's contributions on such matters as the historic legislation of the 1960s affecting civil rights and the right to vote." Senator Charles Mathias, Jr., Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, the congressional committee overseeing the procurement, said at the unveiling that "Martin Luther King takes his rightful place among the heroes of this nation."
John Wilson; the artist was awarded a $50,000 commission to cast the model in bronze. The bust was unveiled in the Rotunda on January 16, 1986, the fifty-seventh anniversary of Dr. King’s birth, by Mrs. King, accompanied by their four children and Dr. King’s sister.[11]
In addition to the National Statuary Hall Collection and the memorial statuary, there are a number of other pieces in the Rotunda. Next to the south entrance, opposite of the statue of George Washington, is a bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence. This piece of art, given by Uriah Phillips Levy, is the only work of art in the Capitol given by a private donor instead of a state or commissioned by Congress. At the west entrance, are marble statues of General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln statue was a commissioned by Congress and designed by Vinnie Ream. The statue of Grant was a gift to Congress by the Grand Army of the Republic. Located in the southwest portion of the Rotunda is a statue of Alexander Hamilton
The main difference between lying in state and lying in honor is the designated guard of honor that keeps watch over the casket. When lying in state, a guard of honor from the United States Armed Forces watch over the casket; when lying in honor, the United States Capitol Police watches as a civilian guard of honor over the casket.
Other notable individuals, several of them being the Chief Justice of the United States, have lain in state in the United States Supreme Court Building while other individuals such as Ronald H. Brown, have lain in state in the Herbert C. Hoover Building.[14]