''Progress of the State'' is the title of a group of
sculptural figures that sits above the south
portico, at the main entrance to the
Minnesota State Capitol
The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office ...
in
Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, the
state capital
Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital cities.
National capitals
*List of national capitals
* List of national capitals by latitude
*List of national capitals by population
* List of national capitals by area
* List of capital c ...
of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
.
The
allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
statuary group representing civilization is in an arrangement known as a ''
quadriga
A () is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in Classical Antiquity and the Roman Empire until the Late Middle Ages. The word derives from the Latin contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke.
The four- ...
'', consisting of a
chariot pulled by four horses. Three human figures, two women and a man, are included. The sculpture, made by
Daniel Chester French and
Edward Clark Potter, was based on their earlier Columbus Quadriga statuary, at the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
of 1893 in Chicago. It was completed and raised to the roof of the capitol in 1906. The underlying
armature is
steel covered in
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
. The exterior copper surface is gilded in 23 karat
gold leaf and requires re-gilding approximately every 20 years.
Design
The quadriga arrangement is a style of statue reproducing ancient
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
four-horse chariots. In the Minnesota quadriga the male charioteer holds aloft a variation of a
Roman Legion
The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...
standard inscribed with the state name
MINNESOTA.
In his design for the Capitol, architect Cass Gilbert left out the classical triangular pediment favored in the
Neoclassical and
Beaux-Arts government architecture of the time and instead in its place installed a quadriga monument at the base of the dome. The quadriga is unusual in that it sits atop a building's portico, rather than upon a triumphal arch like most others. The inspiration for the Minnesota quadriga was the Columbus Quadriga, a statue depicting
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
standing in a four horse chariot guided by two maidens carrying staffs of victory that Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter had modeled for the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
of 1893 in Chicago. Potter was a specialist in equestrian and other animal sculptures who teamed up with French to create the four horses in the monument. Gilbert saw this quadriga group at and made plans to have artists adapt it for Minnesota.
The Board had two options for how French could render the group. By French's estimates in 1896 he could cast it in
bronze for $49,500 or make it from hammered copper for $36,000. The 1903 state appropriation set aside $35,000 for the group "to be executed in copper." French continued to hope to cast the Quadriga in bronze, as late as spring of 1906, but Gilbert communicated the Board's refusal: "However much they would like to use bronze they have not the money available for this purpose, as their appropriation is now all engaged in finishing up various minor items which are regarded as essential." The statuary was then executed in hammered copper surrounding a framework of steel supports.
While the statuary was generally well received, there was push back from veteran groups, politicians and the Minnesota Historical Society over the use of allegorical figures throughout the Capitol instead of representations of Minnesota heroes and historic events. One critic encouraged Minnesotans to, "Take a sledge hammer and smash them Roman bronchos and that chariot! Clean 'em out and put a grand heroic statue of Alexander Ramsey in their stead!"
Symbolism
The Progress of the State was devised as an allegorical statuary where a prosperous Minnesota proceeds onward by means of the power of nature (horses) and civilization (the women). The four horses in the Minnesota quadriga represent the
classical elements
Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simi ...
of
earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
,
air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
,
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
, and
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
. Independently, the women represent
industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
and
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
. Collectively, they represent
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
...
. In addition to personifying the state of Minnesota, the male charioteer holding a
cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...
(horn of plenty), a symbol of abundance and nourishment, represents prosperity.
French's letter on adapting his earlier quadriga from the World's Columbian Exposition to Minnesota quadriga demonstrates the casualness with which allegorical meaning could be ascribed to a statue, and vice versa.
"You will be glad to know that I have begun a model for the central figure (in the chariot) of the Quadriga. The other figures are already designed, as are the horses, since we are to follow the Quadriga which presided over the Columbian Arch at Chicago... The central figure, representing Columbus would, of course, not be appropriate for the State Capitol of Minnesota, so that a new design for this figure is necessary.
As the two figures leading the horses are female figures, I think the figure in the chariot should be a male figure," he wrote. "I think it should represent "Minnesota', if you think that a male figure can personify a state."''
Restorations
Re-gilding the sculpture in 23 karat gold leaf is necessary approximately every 20 years. Every year, the condition of the statuary is reviewed with conservators making slight repairs and touching up the gold leaf as necessary. The sculpture group underwent re-gilding in 1949 and again in 1979. In 1994 the group was taken down from the capitol roof for a year-long restoration procedure. The quadriga was reinstalled in 1995 and the figures have had several minor ''
in situ
''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...
'' reapplications of gold leaf since. During a comprehensive restoration of the State Capitol building the figure of the charioteer was removed and lowered to the ground in 2014 to allow repairs to
corrosion
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engi ...
of the top surface of the chariot and was reinstalled in 2015.
On May 7, 2016, the Quadriga was again removed from the roof in order to allow for roofing repairs below. During that time the statuary was relocated to nearby warehouse where it was re-gilded. On November 12, 2016 the Quadriga was re-installed on the Minnesota State Capitol roof.
See also
*
Public sculptures by Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) was an American sculptor who was active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, to Anne Richardson French and Henry Flagg French on April 20, 1850. His father, a polymat ...
*
Minnesota State Capitol artwork
*
List of artwork at the Minnesota State Capitol
References
External links
Minnesota State Capitol: Quadriga. Minnesota Historical Society.
{{coord, 44, 57, 18, N, 93, 06, 08, W, type:landmark_region:US-MN, display=title
Minnesota State Capitol
Outdoor sculptures in Minnesota
1906 sculptures
Horses in art
Copper sculptures in the United States
Gold sculptures in the United States
1906 establishments in Minnesota
Steel sculptures in Minnesota
Sculptures by Daniel Chester French
Architectural sculpture