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The Lincoln Memorial

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O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead
-Walt Whitman

The familiar lines have long been what I think of when I remember Abraham Lincoln and what he did. This first stanza is still my favorite; maybe because it has that same captivation that all good beginnings have. It draws you in.

Daniel Chester French completed this monumental sculpture in 1922. It is fantastically done! French included every emotion he had about the man in his work on this piece. The expression on Lincoln’s face is one of contemplation; not too heavy, hinted at peaceful.

Personally, I think this statue is another example of how beautiful clothing can be in sculpture. It must be well done, but French pulls it off so completely. There is a reason so many pictures of that memorial include a line of people waiting to see it. It is inviting, endearing, and timeless. Lincoln has been brought to life again, and who wouldn’t want to go meet one the greatest men in history?

The statue originally was supposed to be ten feet tall, but ended up at a full nineteen feet in the end. It was all carved in marble, weighs an incredible 175 short ton, and took four years to carve under the direction of the French. The statue was shipped in twenty-eight separate pieces. I can’t imagine they could have done it any other way.

Another incredible example of the impact of great artwork on our civilization.

Thanks to the following links for info!

http://blog.classicist.org/?p=457
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/24405149
http://getglue.com/topics/p/daniel_chester_french
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Chester_French

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