''Dante Alighieri'', is a public artwork by Italian artist

Ettore Ximenes Ettore Ximenes (11 April 1855, Palermo 20 December 1926, Rome) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Son of Antonio Ximenes and Giulia Tolentino, a Sicilian noble woman, Ettore Ximenes initially embarked on literary studies but then took up scu ...

, located at

Meridian Hill Park Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm X Park, is a structured urban park located in the Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C., Columbia Heights; it also abuts the nearby neighborhood of Adams Morgan. The park wa ...

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. ''Dante Alighieri'' was originally surveyed as part of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

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. The monument is a tribute to Italian poet

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

Description

The statue depicts Dante standing wearing a robe and a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

upon his head. At his proper right side he holds a copy of ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

'' in his hands. The statue rests on a

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 undergro ...

base (6 ft. 7 in. x 4 ft. 10 in.). The proper right side of the bronze is signed by Ximenes and the rear of the figure is stamped with the founders mark for

Roman Bronze Works Roman Bronze Works, now operated as Roman Bronze Studios, is a bronze foundry in New York City. Established in 1897 by Riccardo Bertelli, it was the first American foundry to specialize in the lost-wax casting method, and was the country's pre-emin ...

. The front of the base features the inscription: DANTE And on the back of the base is inscribed: :DANTE ALIGHIERI :PRESENTED TO THE :CITY OF WASHINGTON :IN BEHALF OF THE :ITALIANS IN THE :UNITED STATES BY :COMM CARLO BARSOTTI

Acquisition and dedication

''Dante'' is a casting of a statue located at

Dante Park Dante Park is a public park in Manhattan, New York City, located in the Upper West Side neighborhood in front of Lincoln Center near Central Park. Dante Park was established in 1921 by Italian-Americans in honor of the Italian poet Dante Alighier ...

in New York City. The founder of Dante Park and editor of Il Progresso Italiano-Americano, Carlo Barsotti, donated the replica in 1921 as a tribute to

Italian Americans Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

. The total cost of the statue reached upwards of $20,000 and weighs at least 3,000 pounds.Brigham, Gertrude R. "The New Memorial to Dante in Washington" ''Art & Archeology, Archaeological Institute of America''. Vol. 13, 1922. pp. 32–35. The statue was dedicated on December 1, 1921, as a "gift of the Italians of the United States."Fishback, Frederick L. "Chronicler's Report for 1921" Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. Vol. 25, 1923. p. 251 Barsotti, also head of the Dante Memorial Commission of New York, gave a speech, as well as M. Rene Viviani on behalf of the

French people The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the nati ...

, and Italian ambassador Vittorio Rolandi Ricci. President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

and his wife also attended the dedication."American Art News" ''American Art News'', Vol. 20, no. 9 p. 11 ''Dante'' was covered in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

flags and was unveiled by Clarence Caldwell and Minne Elizabeth Sherrill, the children of the Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds at the time. Other notables who attended the event included the French Ambassador of the time and his wife, the President of the Italian Delegation Carlo Schanzer, the High Commissioner of Italy, Signor Quattrone, and numerous military and Italian community members. Music was played, celebrating Italian and American heritage and contemporary culture of the time. Italian poet and scholar

Giovanni Pascoli Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli (; 31 December 1855 – 6 April 1912) was an Italian poet, classical scholar and an emblematic figure of Italian literature in the late nineteenth century. Alongside Gabriele D'Annunzio, he was one of the great ...

believed that this was the best figure of Dante ever sculpted after viewing a version of the work in Ximenes' studio. When influenced by art critic Florence Brooks about the sculpture and the public reception of it Ximenes was quoted as saying "That is not for me or you to say but for the public, for posterity. Every work performed by an artist is a page in history." The sculpture was founded by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Donor

Carlo Barsotti was born in

Pisa, Italy Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

in 1850. In 1880 he founded the Progresso Italo-Americano newspaper in New York City. King

Umberto I of Italy Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

rewarded him the distinction of the title

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

in 1888. With numerous awards from the country of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and the

Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, it, Croce Rossa Italiana or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919. History Early h ...

, he was quite the Italian figure in late 19th century America.

Condition

This sculpture was surveyed in 1994 for its condition and was described as "well maintained."

References

External links

''Dante'' statue listed on dcMemorials"How did a twelve-foot bronze statue of Dante Alighieri end up in Washington’s Meridian Hill Park?"
from the Italian Cultural Society of Washington, D.C. {{Public art in Washington, D.C. 1921 sculptures Artworks in the collection of the National Park Service Presidency of Warren G. Harding Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C. Cultural depictions of Dante Alighieri Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Statues of writers Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C.