Ulysses S. Grant Memorial : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Ulysses S. Grant Memorial / dbking
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示 2.1 |
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| 説明 | Ulysses S. Grant Memorial (Bronze)Location: Union Square, on the east end of the National Mall at the base of the US Capitol Building The Senate Park Commission’s 1902 plan to redesign the capital city, known as the McMillan Plan, envisioned Union Square as Washington’s Place de la Concorde (Paris), and the Grant Memorial is one of Washington’s most prominently placed memorials and the statue one of the largest and most important sculptures in the city. The central figure, an equestrian statue of General Grant, stands 40’ above a 252’ x 71’ marble plaza. Grant and his horse constitute the 2nd largest equestrian statue in the world, second only to the statue of Victor Emmanuel in Italy. The memorial’s thirteen sculpted horses make it one of the most complex equestrian statues ever built, and its artist (Henry Merwin Shrady) was one of the most prolific equestrian sculptors of all time. The Lincoln Memorial and the Grant Memorial (both dedicated in 1922) were designed to anchor the east and west ends of the National Mall, intending to enshrine the Civil War for all time. Unfortunately, only the Lincoln Memorial achieved the intended prominence. Overshadowing the Grant Memorial is the Capitol Building that looms behind it. First Street separates the Memorial from the Capitol, separating it from the city’s activity. In front of the Memorial, the reflecting pool separates it from the Mall. And, a challenge that the 1902 Senate Park Committee didn’t foresee was Grant’s diminishing popularity over time; while the mystique surrounding Lincoln has continued, Grant’s has fallen, further separating the Memorial from its intended grandeur. Note: Grant’s funeral in 1885 drew more than one million mourners, making it one of the largest public gatherings in 19th century America. This great outpouring of public support at that time demonstrates how far from the public eye Grant has fallen, unlike Lincoln. Twenty years in the making, the Grant Memorial uses no allegorical figures or symbolic markings to convey the Civil War. Instead, the face of war is showcased through richly detailed men and horses rushing to battle. Grant had only been dead two months when the debate over how to memorialize him began and how to portray a military hero whose foe had been his fellow Americans. It was decided that he “must be shown as a military victor” but with “no suggestion in its groups or its tableaux or its bas-relief that he ever gained a battle in which the defeated army was composed of his countrymen in rebellion.” Another said, “The great end accomplished by his splendid services was not a victory over a foe, but reconciliation between brothers.” In 1885, during the encampment of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, Grant’s former command, the idea took root to honor Grant. The society voted to send members to lobby Congress for a memorial to the “victor of Vicksburg and Shiloh and the Wilderness.” Eventually, Congressmen William Hepburn (IA) and David Mercer (NE) introduced legislation for a memorial, gaining an appropriation of $250,000, the largest amount set aside for a memorial up to that time. Within two weeks after funds were appropriated, the Grant Memorial Commission was up and running and artistic competitions were soon underway for a sculptor. The Commission of the MemorialBetween March 1 and April 1, 1902, artists were asked to submit plans on a scale model of 1” to 1’. To be eligible to compete, artists were required to be American citizens and all casting would have to be done in the United States. There were no restrictions on the style or iconography on the work, but all submissions were required to represent “the character and individuality of the subject”. Twenty-three artists submitted twenty-seven models, which were displayed and judged in the basement of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The Grant Memorial Committee made their top three selections on April 7, 1902. Shrady’s model caught the attention of the Committee since it focused more on the realities of war than the others, which focused more on the themes of peace and reconciliation. However, the Committee was wary of Shrady’s ability to carry through on his design (he had very limited experience as a sculptor), and they asked both Shrady and the better known sculptor Charles Niehaus to compete in a second head-to-head round of judging by enlarging their models. The competition between the two artists was fanned into a full-fledged drama that caught the public’s imagination with the artists themselves providing fuel for the papers. Niehaus berated Shrady’s previous attempts at sculpture, criticized the judges, and generally whined unmercifully about being put in competition with a relative novice. Niehaus’ letters to the judging committee made him look jealous and petty while Shrady’s correspondence with the committee was respectful. On October 1, 1902, the enlarged models went on display. Two months later the committee was still undecided. Only after Secretary Root urged the committee to hurry, saying, “he’d had enough of the “spectacle of a fierce feud between two rival sculptors” was a decision imminent. Finally, on February 3, 1903, the Grant Memorial Committee awarded the commission to sculptor Shrady and architect Edward Pearce Casey. Design of the Grant MemorialShrady began his work even though the exact location for the statute had not yet been selected. The lions for the four corners of the pedestal were the first constructed and were the first of several small changes to the submitted design. Originally designed as ferocious, snarling lions, Shrady decided to bring them into harmony with the statue of Grant by having them lay watchfully, suggesting strength and power – as does the statue of Grant. At the base of the lions he added American and army flags to “personify the character of Gen. Grant and his army in protecting the national ensigns.” The commission was happy with the alterations but dismayed that it had taken a full two years to complete this portion, symptoms of Shrady’s perfectionism and chronically slow pace. While Shrady labored on the statue, the debate about where to place the memorial continued. Wanting to place it on the axis with the Lincoln Memorial, as twin icons of the Civil War, the proposed site presented problems since it would displace the Botanic Gardens and require the uprooting of several hallowed old trees. Speaker of the House, “Uncle Joe Cannon,” defended the trees and the Washington Star newspaper launched public opposition to their removal. Eventually (1908), the superstructure for the memorial was completed among the hallowed trees. With the lions complete, Shrady began preparations for the massive artillery group on the south end of the platform. To ensure accuracy in every detail, the perfectionist Shrady joined an artillery regiment of the New York National Guard, haunted the stables of the New York Police Department, borrowed Civil War uniforms and equipment from the War Department. When the artillery group was cast in four pieces in 1911, the 15-ton piece was the largest bronze group ever cast in America. Having completed the artillery group, Shrady, already behind schedule and showing physical toll from the project, turned his attention to the cavalry group. He spent days at West Point near his home in New York where the superintendent would stage cavalry charges while Shrady sketched them. Shrady had his sons pour water over his own horses so he could better understand their musculature for his work. In 1914, he wrote the commission that he had completed a quarter scale model, and a committee member was sent to inspect it and to prod Shrady to hurry. The commissioner, noting the detail and Shrady’s failing health, defended the slow pace by saying that “generally an equestrian statue takes two years to make and cast and in Grant’s Memorial there are seven or eight horses with rider in the cavalry group and another four in the artillery group, not counting the statue of General Grant himself.” Viewing the cavalry portion today, observers are forced to project themselves into the soldiers’ maelstrom as they rush toward an unforeseen enemy. This section is so densely packed that viewers are said to have a dangerously limited perspective of all soldiers in the pack. Once the artillery and cavalry portions were finished, all that remained was the statue of Grant and the infantry panels for the pedestal. Shrady modeled the statue of Grant and his horse four times in clay before he was satisfied. Contrasted to an “alert” horse, Grant sits astride with shoulders slouched, wearing a battered hat, heavy coat, and without sword watching the crashing churning groups below him; his face is haggard. Shrady examined Grant’s life mask to get proportions correct. However, Shrady was falling further and further behind schedule, having had his contract extended ten times over eighteen years. His health was failing and his family was suffering from the financial hardships (he would not be paid for the work until it was completed) and Shrady was forced to borrow money from friends. Further slowing his pace and creating additional challenges was increased pressure from the commission. Meanwhile, the First World War made materials difficult to obtain and the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 took its toll on Shrady. Dedication of the Grant Memorialn 1921, with only two infantry panels still unfinished, the commission gave Shrady an ultimatum: finish by October or the work would be given to another artist to complete! Shrady was crushed. Frantic to help her husband Harrie Shrady wrote a family friend on the commission asking him to intervene but the commission was not swayed. Reluctantly, Shrady took on an assistant, Edmund Amateis, to help finish the panels of dozens of marching infantrymen that had already been sketched in clay. As 1922 dawned, the commission decided to move ahead with the dedication ceremony scheduled for the centennial of Grant’s birth without the panels. On Thursday, April 27, 1922, the dedication took place. Sadly, Shrady was not there to see his monumental work dedicated; he had been hospitalized in February and died on April 12,1922, two weeks prior to the dedication. The final two panels were completed by Sherry Fry and installed in 1924. All federal government offices were closed for the dedication and bunting decorated homes and office buildings. A huge military parade preceded the ceremony, with cadets from West Point, midshipmen from Annapolis, and Army, Navy, and Marine units marching from the White House to the foot of Capitol Hill. The loudest ovations came from Civil War veterans as they marched past the large crowds that had gathered. Behind the Civil War veterans marched veterans of the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War and the recent World War. During the ceremony, the themes of peace, unity, reconciliation and progress were highlighted. The emphasis was on “Grant, the peacemaker,” not Grant the ruthless general or two-term president. Vice President Calvin Coolidge stood in for President Harding at the ceremony (President Harding was in Point Pleasant, Ohio, dedicating the Grant birthplace). During the ceremony, Coolidge said “a grateful Republic has raised this memorial, not as a symbol of war, but as a symbol of peace,” which must have made Shrady roll over in his grave since his design from the start had been to show the horrors of war! Note: Extreme detail abounds in all portions of this memorial. In the cavalry grouping, one fallen rider is about to be trampled and the riders behind shield their faces from the sight. Also worth noting are the debris of war on the ground, such as broken sabers and canteens. |
| 撮影日 | 2005-03-01 10:50:38 |
| 撮影者 | dbking , Washington, DC |
| 撮影地 | |
| カメラ | Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL , Canon |
| 露出 | 0.003 sec (1/320) |
| 開放F値 | f/6.3 |
| 焦点距離 | 105 mm |