OCR Text |
Show j I COLUMBUS IN STATUARY I . . the first discoverer. It is said to be the original monument erected on this continent to commemorate the achievement of Columbus. It is unfortunate that there is no contemporaneous painting or likeness of Columbus extant. For this reason artists who have attempted to reproduce repro-duce his lineaments in marble have been at a great disadvantage. As a matter of fact the accepted likeness of the admiral is after the manner of being an Idealistic conception. con-ception. All are familiar with the strong, clean-shaven face from which deep, expressive eyes look out under a broad brow. The deep lines from the nose to the corners of the mouth are also characteristic of the popular portraits of Columbus. Who would recoguize the discoverer depicted with a gray beard? Yet it Is more than probable that ha wore one when he planted the banner of Spain .on the Bhorea of the New World. The few descriptions of the personal person-al appearance of the Hdmlral which we have from those who knew him well tell us "he was a man of sturdy stature, rather above the average height, of a very ruddy complexion, with freckles and red hair when he was young. The latter soon turned white, which was also the color of his beard." Beards were the fashion of his day in Spain, and it Is easy to clean shaven In effigy. So It Is with the new Columbus statue unveiled in Washington on June 8. This marks the first great memorial which the United States government has erected erect-ed to Christopher Columbus. There has long been a feeling that this country has 'hot had a really worthy monument to the man who Is primarily responsible for the existence exist-ence of the nation. The feeling took concrete shap when. In 9uti, Representative .lames A. Goulden of New York introduced a bill appropriating the sum of $100,-000 $100,-000 to be used for a Columbus memorial. memo-rial. Congress passed the bill and it was signed in 1907 by President Roosevelt. The design Is a combination of fountain, shaft and statue. The fountain is semi-circular, 70 feet wide and 05 feet from front to rear. The balustrade which half encircles en-circles it bears the effigy of a heroic, lion at either extremity. The salient feature of the memorial is a splendid splen-did stone shaft surmounted by a globe. Before this shaft, which rises in the center of the fountain circle, Is a statue of Columbus. The globe which surmounts the shaft indicates the contribution the discovery of Columbus was to the science of geography. This globe is supported by four massive eagles cated on November 9, lStl". although the foundation had been laid as far back as 18-16. The inscription it bears is: "To Christopher Columbus, the Fatherland." Spain, which country failed the Genoese during his lifetime, life-time, has been more generous to his memory, and here are many shafts raised to record the greatness of his deed Perhaps the noblest monument yet erected to the memory of Columbus is that which stands in Barcelona. It was in this city that King Ferdinand and his consort, Isabella, received the admiral on the return from his first voyage. It is most appropriate situation. Much care was taken in the selection of the design of the Barcelona monument, and the result Is artistic In every sense of the word. In the new world nearly every country has testified In recognition of the deed of Columbus by the erection erec-tion of some character of monument. From the magnificent effigy which graces the center of Columbus circle in New York to the simple shaft --.HRISTOPHER COLUM-J COLUM-J BUS was a Latin, whether he be consid- f ered as a native of Italy, where undoubtedly he spent his early boy-tfe boy-tfe hood, or serving under I the flag of Portugal, 7S3 wnere nl3 maturing manhood years pre-U pre-U pared his for the In comparable triumphs he secured for the home of his final adoption, Spain. Latin America, too, was the area over which his discoveries were extended, ex-tended, for It is a fact that he had no knowledge of the existence of the vast continent to the north of the Caribbean sea and the West India Islands. He had been to England and at one time In despair had applied ap-plied to the court of England to help him in his great ambition, but his ' experience and his fame were Latin, i Perhaps on this account the name j of Columbus Is incorporated more j prominently In the nomenclature of I Latin America than In that of Anglo-' Anglo-' Saxon America. The Republic of Co- lombia bears witness to the honor with which he was held from the beginnings be-ginnings of independence in the western world. Today the one-time Insignificant little port in Panama, Colon, at the northern entrance to the canal, indicates another atttempt to perpetuate the name of Columbus In a geographical way. Other countries coun-tries have districts or rivers, public parks and theaters, with the name of Colon, and it would seem to he in Spanish, as Its equivalent, Colombo, in Portuguese, a mark of affection as well as of honor for the discoverer of America. The United States has given his name to the District of Columbia as soon as the founders of this Republic Repub-lic could consider designations apart from those inherited from provincial days. As the country grew in area, towns were named Columbus, and the designation of the federal district, which was to be the seat of government, govern-ment, shows that the discoverer was not forgotten, on the . continent that once might have been his. Perhaps, however, the greatest compliment to the memory of Columbus is that implied im-plied in the poetical appellation "Columbia," "Co-lumbia," the allegorical name given to the United States. There can be no denying the fact that the recognition of the great achievement of the admiral has been tardy. It is well known, however, that often the delayed Judgment of history alone awards to great men the honor they deserved. We are all bo familiar with the story of Columbus, Colum-bus, as it has been handed down to I ' hi ft e-ritf s I j til - f''Ar lit ilf mj toui I f 1 ?-J- ill hfcr- w Ml '. t f& WM I J fA 7. si ' I -x t il" -s- 'Jfwi ' ''"":'" i f ' pymW ZL I x """" - m 1 I which marks the spot of the supposed sup-posed first landing on Watlings island, we find a great number of statues erected in honor of the discoverer. dis-coverer. Even the English have done honor to the navigator at Nassau in the Bahama islands and at Trinidad; and the people of Santo Domingo have also raised splendid monuments; monu-ments; while in Cuba, where, in the cathedral at Havana, the bones of Columbus were so long interred, there are a great many representations representa-tions of this historic figure. The statue which is now placed in the I believe that sailors wore them for I protection. I The representations which w-e see , today of Columbus can nearly all be traced back to an engraving called the Paulus Jovius cut, which was made from a painting that has been lost. Even the lost painting was not an original likeness, for it was painted on what the lawyers would call "hearsay evidence." But as it was executed some time in the early years of the sixteenth century the features may be taken as fairly correct. cor-rect. In this cut Columbus is drawn without a beard, thus he is always with outstretched wings. Upon it. in high relief, are cut the topographical topograph-ical features of the new world. At either side of the shaft there appear figures portraying the sculptor's conception con-ception of representative types of the new and old world. The figure of an American Indian, energetic in pose, one hand reaching over' his shoulder and grasping an arrow from a quiver, represents the new world, while the statue of a patriarchal Caucasian of heroic proportions and thoughtful mien, typifies the old world. On the mace at the hear of the shaft is placed a medallion representing repre-senting Ferdinand and Is.ibeUa of Spain. president's palace, Havana, is an artistic ar-tistic piece of work, but the most striking effigy of all in Cuba is Vall-mitjana's Vall-mitjana's sculpture depicting Columbus Colum-bus In chains. It is to be regretted that this beautiful work is only a clay model. The representation Is j that of Columbus in his old age. He us, that there is no need here to recount re-count the many injustices which he suffered at the hands of his contemporaries. contem-poraries. The salient fact that he was shorn of his honors and returned laden with chains, proves conclusively conclusive-ly the cruel contempt with which the fearless navigator was treated in his own day. Time rectifies many mis-judgments, mis-judgments, and it has done so in the case of the discoverer of America. The wonder of his achievement is i universally recognized and the worlds, I both old and new, have testified in many monuments to the respect ami honor in which they hold Columbus. The custom of preparing effigies in stone, so that the names and achievements achieve-ments of a nation's heroes may be passed on to posterity, finds its origin or-igin in most ancient times. It is but natural that this custom should have been followed in the case of Columbus. Colum-bus. Today we find statues erected to the discoverer in Italy, Spain and France, and in nearly all of the countries of the new world. At Genoa, which city claims the honor of being the birthplace of Columbus, Co-lumbus, there has been erected a very magnificent statue, which overlooks the bay. It was completed and dedl- is seated on a coil of rope on the deck of the ship which is carrying him to Spain. He reclines against a capstan, his fettered hands held before him. The artist has caught a striking expression of resignation combined with melancholy. The work is a masterpiece of sentiment and expression. ex-pression. Another historical group is that which was presented by Empress Eugenie Eu-genie of France to the Republic of Colombia. It now stands at Cristobal, Cristo-bal, the Cantl Zone. Throughout Latin America the veneration ven-eration for Columbus is universal, and we find his memory honored in cities of Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and other Pan-American states. It is curious to note that it was also a Latin, a Frenchman, who erected the first monument in the United States in honor of the achievement achieve-ment of Columbus. In Baltimore there still stands a monument erected erect-ed over a century ago in honor of |