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VOICE TWO:
The inside of the Capitol domeWe start in the most beautiful room, the Rotunda. This large circular room inside the Capitol's tall white dome measures over fifty-four meters high. It was completed in eighteen twenty-four.
The room connects the Senate side of the building with the House of Representatives side. So, it is both the physical and symbolic center of the building. Visiting the room is a wonderful experience. The room has a feeling of solidity and permanence, but it also is a celebration of light and airiness.
BARBARA WOLANIN: "We're in the Rotunda, right in the center of the United States Capitol, and starting from the top down, the very top is the fresco painting called the "Apotheosis of Washington". It was painted by a Roman-born artist Constantino Brumidi in eighteen sixty-five, at the end of the Civil War."
VOICE ONE:
At the top of the dome is a colorful painting showing groups of people arranged in a circular shape. George Washington sits in the center of the painting, with women representing Liberty and Victory at his sides.
BARBARA WOLANIN: "He's the one in the lavender lap robe. And he's rising up into the heavens. Apotheosis means being raised to the level of an ideal or a god."
VOICE TWO:
Painting at the top of the domeIt might seem strange today to show an American president as a god. But during the nineteenth century, Americans greatly loved and respected President Washington. This included Americans from both the North and South after the Civil War. Several Roman gods are also in the painting. They are holding examples of American technologies of the time.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25