''Guglielmo Marconi'' is a public artwork by
Attilio Piccirilli, located at the intersection of
16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
and Lamont Streets, N.W., in the
Mount Pleasant neighborhood of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, United States. It stands as a tribute to Italian inventor
Guglielmo Marconi.
It was paid for by public subscription and erected in 1941. The artwork was listed on both the
District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites
The District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites is a register of historic places in Washington, D.C. that are designated by the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), a component of the District of Columbia Govern ...
and the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2007. It is a
contributing property in the
Mount Pleasant Historic District.
The monument was originally surveyed as part of the
Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture!
Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999.
History
Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...
survey in 1994.
[
]
Description
The sculpture features two bronze pieces. In the front is a bust of Marconi (approx. 40 x 30 x 16 in.) which sits on a rectangular Stony Creek granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
base (approx. 95 x 32 x 18 in.).[Kelly, Edward. ''The Memorial to Marconi''. The Scientific Monthly, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1942, p. 92-95.] Behind the bust is the second bronze resting on another granite base (approx. 95 x 72 x 36 in.). The second bronze is an allegorist female figure sitting on a globe
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...
with her legs stretched out behind her. She points her proper left arm straight in front of her while her proper right arm is raised and bent at the elbow. She is naked with a small piece of drapery on her lap. According to Piccirilli, she is "the Wave", representing "Marconi's contribution to science..."[
The base housing the Marconi bust features the inscription on the proper left side:
:Attilio Piccirilli 1940.
On the same base's rear:
:ERECTED BY POPULAR SUBSCRIPTION
:AND PRESENTED TO THE CITY OF WASHINGTON
:THE MARCONI MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
:1940
On the front of the base:
:MARCONI
:1874–1937.][
The statue is not without association to fascist art, since Marconi was strongly identified with Italian fascism, and Piccirilli's subsequent work at the ]Rockefeller center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...
in New York was criticized for using language appropriated by Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
.
Gallery
File:Guglielmo Marconi Front.jpg, Front
File:Guglielmo Marconi Female Detail Front.jpg, Detail
File:Guglielmo Marconi Back.jpg, Back
File:Guglielmo Marconi Detail Bust.jpg, Bust detail
Acquisition
The fund for the memorial was begun a year after Marconi's 1937 death. The total sculpture cost after completion was $32,555.[
]
See also
* List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 1
*
* Outdoor sculpture in Washington, D.C.
There are many outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. In addition to the capital's most famous monuments and memorials, many figures recognized as national heroes (either in government or military) have been posthumously awarded with his or her o ...
References
External links
''Guglielmo Marconi'' statue
dcMemorials.com
Nude sculptures in D.C.
{{authority control
1941 sculptures
Allegorical sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Artworks in the collection of the National Park Service
Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Busts in Washington, D.C.
Granite sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Cultural depictions of Guglielmo Marconi
Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C.
Sculptures of women in Washington, D.C.
Rock Creek Park
Guglielmo Marconi