Ceracchi, Giuseppe (1751-1801) [Proposal for a monument]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.10610 Author/Creator: Ceracchi, Giuseppe (1751-1801) Place Written: s.l. Type: Printed document Date: circa 1795 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 40.3 x 32.6 cm. Order a Copy
"A DESCRIPTION OF A MONUMENT DESIGNED TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF AMERICAN LIBERTY." A portion of it states, "THE GODDESS is represented descending in a car drawn by four horses, darting through a volume of clouds, which conceals the summit of a rainbow. - Her form is at once expressive of dignity and grace, -In her right hand she brandishes a flaming dart, which, by dispelling the mists of Error, illuminate the universe; her left is extended in the attitude of calling upon the people of America to listen to her voice. -A simple pileus covers her head her hair plays unconfined over shoulders; her bent brow expresses the energy of her character; her lips appear partly open, whilst her awful voice echoes through the vault of heaven, in favor of the rights of man._ here drapery is simple: She is attired in an ancient chlamys, one end of which is confined under her zone, _the rest floats carelessly in the wind; the cothurnus covers her feet... her right [hand], is pointing to the Declaration of Independence, inscribed upon a massy column."
Ceracchi, an Italian sculptor notes for his bust of Alexander Hamilton, was never able to obtain sufficient funding to create the monument.
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