CHALLENGE #10 – ANSWERED – Lets do Art!

June 12, 2020 PT

Happy weekend to everyone. I think it would be a capitol idea for a little art culture to get your day going. So…

What art am I?

Perhaps I cheated a bit on this one. I tend to do that sometimes. Let me make it a whole lot easier by giving you the “big picture.”

I recognize that my photography skills are lacking. But, hopefully there is enough perspective there for you to see that this not some canvas painting hanging on the wall. Its actually a mural on the ceiling of a dome. I really hope that I do not need to say which dome. But, just in case, its this dome…

The official answer to the CHALLENGE is “The Apotheosis of Washington.” This fresco painting is 185 feet above the rotunda floor in the US Capitol Building. It was painted by Greek/Italian/American painter, Constantino Brumidi, and finished in 1863. I think the most interesting part of this art history is the “apotheosis.” What it basically means in this case is that the people were essentially elevating GW to divine status. He is seated with the Goddess Victoria on his left and the Goddess of Liberty on his right. Imagine that. Contrast that with the last few decades, when at least 40-50% of our population typically hates our President.

Have you ever had that discussion question…”who do you think is the best President?” Well…stop having that discussion. The answer is George Washington. Name anyone else who compares to this resume….lead army to gain country’s independence from England…afterward, GW was asked to be the new king…GW of course refused total power, and became our first President instead….then presided over the country during the creation of the Constitution and the forming of our entire way of governing…and in the end, he was loved enough for the people to think of him as “God-like.” Remember, the proper discussion question is….”who do you think is the SECOND” best President? PT

p.s. There was one person that anonymously put the correct CHALLENGE answer in the COMMENT section. We had a glitch in the blog platform this week. Your comment was deleted in our recovery. But, I wanted to give credit where credit is due. Thanks for commenting