A Palace of the Arts
a visit to the Pennsylvania state capitol
I suppose I should actually show you what George Gray Barnard’s sculpture groups for the Pennsylvania State Capitol actually look like, huh?
Here’s the Capitol. You may notice that you can’t see any sculptures here (well, except for the one on top of the dome). That’s because, despite the elaborate staircases and ramps and the glorious fountain (dyed pink for breast cancer awareness) this is actually not the main entrance to the Capitol. This is the back entrance.
This is the much less impressive main entrance to the Capitol, on the west side of the building. Those are Barnard’s sculpture groups on either side of the main entrance. You can see what I mean about the groupings being cluttered and chaotic — from a distance, you really can’t tell what they are.
Here’s The Burden of Life: The Broken Law as you approach it. Again, you get a much better and clearer view from the side and at a distance than you do from the base. From right to left, we have Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (from the side), then “The Forsaken Mother” and “Two Brothers” and “Despair and Hope.” Technically these are all quite masterful. Emotionally, they leave me cold.
The other side of The Burden of Life. From left to right: Adam and Eve again, “The Mourning Woman”, “The Kneeling Youth”, the barely-visible “Angel of Consolation”, “The Burden BEarer” and “Despair and Hope” again.
And then, across the way, Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law. On this side I can’t really tell the players apart without a scorecard. That’s definitely the new Adam and Eve in the back and “The New Youth” in front, and I think the other groupings here are “The Baptism”, “The Young Parents”, and “Two Brothers” (though what they’re doing does not exactly seem brotherly to me). If you look hard you can see the one unclouded dong on the whole sculpture, on the small child in front of the parents. But don’t look too hard, you pervert.
The other side of Love and Labor. Here I think we have “The Prodigal Son”, “The Thinkers”, and “The Philosopher-Teacher.”
And, just so this isn’t all about Barnard, here’s Joseph Huston Miller on the doorknob of the big brass doors…
…this amazing mural by Edward Austin Abbey depicting The Spirit of Light (oil wells have never looked so cool)…
…and in the Senate chamber, this awesome mural by Violet Oakley depicting The Creation and Preservation of the Union. Man, my state has the awesomest capitol.
