CONSTANTINO BRUMIDI MICHELANGELO OF THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL [Illustration] CONSTANTINO BRUMIDI _MICHELANGELO OF THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL_ _By_ MYRTLE CHENEY MURDOCK ... _So long has Brumidi devoted his heart and strength to this Capitol that his love and reverence for it is not surpassed by even that of Michelangelo for St. Peter’s._ SENATOR JUSTIN S. MORRILL, FEB. 24, 1880 [Illustration: text decoration] MONUMENTAL PRESS, INC. _WASHINGTON · 1950_ PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA COPYRIGHT, 1950, _BY_ MYRTLE CHENEY MURDOCK, WASHINGTON, D. C. TO MY SON LT. DAVID N. MURDOCK [Illustration: text decoration] _Musician, Athlete, Infantryman killed in action at Palermo, Italy August 11, 1943_ Preface It should be made clear by way of an introduction to this appraisal of Constantino Brumidi that the author is neither an artist nor an art critic. I am simply the wife of a Western Congressman who has been stirred by the patriotism of the Italian refugee-artist, Brumidi; by his exquisite decorations on the walls and ceilings of our Capitol Building of the United States; by his persistent effort in the face of blinding criticism; and finally by the lack, of recognition characterized by his unmarked burial place. I have asked myself these questions many times: “How can countless exquisite frescoes and paintings adorn our Capitol Building and yet the American people have little or no knowledge of their existence?” “Can an artist spend twenty-five years decorating this Capitol Building and then remain as unknown as his frescoes?” “How could a Government such as ours, that has rewarded so many for so much, forget the artist, Brumidi, and let him lie unhonored and unknown for seventy years in an unmarked grave?” These questions I cannot answer. I can only record for you authenticated Brumidi facts as they have unfolded themselves to me during the fourteen years I have been inspired by the artist’s frescoes--all the time waiting for a poet or an artist to tell this story. However, I do know that great service and sacrifice in our Democracy often are not rewarded until long years have slipped away. I know, too, that unjust criticism and ridicule can so befog the patriotic works of a good man that even half a century is often not long enough for those works to emerge with all their significant meaning.