CONSTANTINO BRUMIDI

 

Constantino Brumidi (1805-1877) was one of the early Italian immigrants to this country, arriving in 1852. He was born and lived in Rome. His father was Greek, Stauro Brumidi, and his mother Italian, Anna Maria Bianchini. He studied at the Italian Academy of Arts, and he worked at the Vatican to restore works of art along with Domenico Tojetti (See a following article). In 1832 at the age of twenty-seven, Brumidi married a widow, Maria Covaluzzi.  They had a daughter, Maria Elena Assunta Fortunata. Unfortunately, five years later Maria and his mother died within ten months of each other. The following year he married again, to Anna Rovelli, they had a son, Giuseppe Antonio Raffaello. In 1852 he left Rome, leaving his wife and two children, a ten and a twenty year old behind. In 1860, Brumidi married an American by the name of Lola Germon. The literature indicates he had a continuing relationship with Elena.

It appears he was seeking political refuge when he came to the United States. In any event, he became an U.S. citizen two years after his arrival. Brumidi is famous for what many consider to be the greatest interior decorative art in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. He began his work in 1855 and continued for 25 years, almost until his death.

His work was not without controversy. When he received the commission to do the decorative work for the Capitol, Know-Nothing-ism was in its heyday and many of the supporters of this philosophy did not want any foreigners to even compete for the position. Some were critical in terms of his work as not being “republic,” that is, not simplistic; it was too ornate. Nevertheless, others recognized him as an excellent artist and the U.S. Government employed him to do the artwork in the Capitol.

In the twenty-five year period that he worked, Brumidi painted scores of frescoes. Three works that are the most noteworthy are: The Apotheosis (glorification of George Washington), which appears in the Capitol dome Rotunda; paintings on the walls of the Senate corridor, also known as the Brumidi Corridor, and the frieze of the Capitol dome. His untimely death prevented completion of the frieze. Beforehand, he had completed the drawings of epic events in American history for the rest of the frieze, which were: the landing of Columbus, William Penn’s treaty with the Indian, the great battles of the Revolution, the discovery of gold in California, and more. He also did other paintings and frescoes in the House of Representatives Chambers, in many committee rooms, in the President’s Room, in the Senate Reception Room and numerous others in the Capitol building.

It is reported that upon arriving in America, he said, “I have no longer any desire for fame or fortune. My one ambition and my daily prayers are that I may live long enough to make beautiful, the Capitol of the one country on earth in which there is liberty.”

The truth to that is questionable; however, we do have an indication of his pride in being a citizen of the United States, since in his painting,   Cornwallis Sues for Cessation of Hostilities Under the Flag of Truce, he signed it with C. Brumidi, Artist, Citizen of the U.S.

His reputation waxed and waned over the years, in fact, for more than one hundred years his grave in Washington was unmarked and unadorned. One would not know of him or his work unless one visited the Capitol or read books about the construction and development of the Capitol building.

One day while working on the frieze of major events in American history in the Capitol dome, he slipped on the scaffolding and clung to it for 20 minutes until someone arrived to help him. He was never able to do any more work and died four months later on February 19, 1880. He had completed thirty-five percent of the frieze. Filippo Costaggini, an artist from Rome, continued it, using Brumidi’s sketches, except for a thirty-two-foot section, of which there was an earlier miscalculation. Costaggini applied to congress to finish it, but he died before Congress could act. Muralist for three corridors of the House Representatives, Allyn Cox completed the frieze in 1953.