Brumidi’s U.S. Capitol Masterpieces SAID TO BE INSPIRED BY POMPEII

Brumidi’s S-127

The Italian artist Constantino Brumidi is known for his many beautiful works of art in the U.S. Capitol, including his famous fresco The Apotheosis of Washington. His first commission in the Capitol was the subject of an interesting recent talk by a professor at George Washington University who is a classics scholar specializing in classical Roman art and specifically, Roman sculpture. Professor Elise A. Friedland gave a talk on “Pompei on the Potomac” on July 23, 2020, sponsored by the National Italian American Foundation and the University of Maryland through a grant by philanthropist Ernest L.

Pellegri who left $500,000 for NIAF and U.Md. to study the influence of ancient Rome. Professor Friedland has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to write “Classical Washington: Greece & Rome in the Art and Architecture of DC.” There are so many masterpieces by Brumidi in the Capitol, but the focus of Professor Friedland’s talk was one specific room — S-127, now the Senate Appropriations Committee room since 1912, but formerly the Naval Affairs Committee room from 1860-1897. This was Brumidi’s first full-scale commission in the Capitol.

The blue background Brumidi favored was a darker shade of the color also used in Pompeii. The floral motifs in the corners were similar to ones in Pompeii.

The professor said that in 1852 Brumidi came to America, apparently after he got on the wrong side of the authorities in Italy. He had commissions from churches waiting for him when he arrived here, and he was quickly granted American citizenship. It turned out that Brumidi’s eventual patron, Montgomery Meigs, was having trouble finding someone to decorate the U.S. Capitol. So Meigs heard about Brumidi and asked him to come to Washington, D.C., and paint some panels. His work was warmly received, and so he began painting S-127 from 1856 to 1858. Since the room was first occupied by the Naval Affairs Committee, the art reflects a naval theme.

The highly ornate ceiling as executed by Brumidi and his assistants is painted in fresco and tempera. Seven Roman gods and goddesses of the sea (including Neptune), together with America in the personification of a Native American woman, dominate the ceiling interspersed with architectural scenes and images of floating maidens. Professor Friedland said when she first began researching Brumidi’s work and took a closer look at S-127, she learned of similarities of the painting of a maiden with a flag with art in the House of Ships (Casa di Naviglio) in Pompeii, such as the Floating Maenad from the 1st century A.D.

She said she began to wonder if Brumidi was inspired by art he had seen in Pompeii. Since Rome, where he used to live, was not far from Pompeii, it was likely he had traveled there. Or was he influenced after he got here? For example, the blue background Brumidi favored was a darker shade of the color also used in Pompeii. The floral motifs in the corners were similar to ones in Pompeii, and a scene in the S-127 ceiling resembled “Nereid Riding Sea Panther” from the 1st century A.D. She said this interesting question lead her to do some more research, and she found that the Library of Congress’ Rare Book Division, which in Brumidi’s time was in the U.S. Capitol, had some very interesting material. Specifically, she learned that a German artist named William Zahn who lived around the same time as Brumidi and who lived in Pompeii for several years, had published a series of very large folios, known as “elephant folios,” which depicted the artwork of Pompeii.

The professor said these “elephant folios” were exported from Saxony and acquired by the Library of Congress’ Rare Books Division in 1846. This timeline, she said, shows that it is likely that Brumidi had viewed them. Furthermore, Meigs’ journal refers to “the Pompeii rooms.” So why, she asked, would Meigs and Brumidi want to make the room look like Pompeii? Meigs may have wanted to rival the palaces of Europe but at the same time have it be a people’s place of democracy. Professor Friedland thinks it’s possible that an influential person of that era, Edward Everett, may have had something to do with it. Everett was a classicist, the president of Harvard University, a Secretary of State and a U.S. Senator. He got his Ph.D. in Germany and may have been responsible for the acquisition of the “elephant folios.” And thus, using a little imagination, maybe we can call Brumidi’s work, “Pompeii on the Potomac.” ❚