12 2 STA T . 2 430PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 59—J UL Y 1 , 200 8PublicLaw1 1 0–259 110 thCongres s A n Act Toaw a rdp o sthum ous ly a C o ng r e ss i onal gold medal to Constantino B rumidi .Beit e nac te dby t h e S enate and Hous eo fR e pr esentati v es of the U nited States of Am erica in C on g ress assemb l ed ,SECTION1.F IN D IN G S. Congres s fi n d s th efo l lo w ing
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n Ju l y26, 1 805 , Const a ntino B ru m idi was b orn in R ome, I taly of an Italian mother and a G ree k father who ins p ired him with a lo v e of liberty . (2) W hile Constantino Brumidi ’ s Greek an c estry stirred his passion for liberty and citi z enship, his Italian heritage provided the art styles of the Renaissance and the Baro q ue which influenced the artwork of the U nited S tates Capitol. ( 3 ) Constantino Brumidi became a citizen of the United States as soon as he was able, embracing its history, values, and ideals. ( 4 ) Beginning in 1855, Constantino Brumidi designed and decorated 1 H ouse and 5 Senate committee rooms in the Cap - itol, as well as the Senate Reception Room, the Office of the V ice P resident, and, most notably, the President’s Room, which represents Brumidi’s supreme effort ‘ ‘to make beautiful the Capitol’’ of the United States. (5) In 1865, Constantino Brumidi completed in j ust 11 months his masterpiece, ‘‘ T he A potheosis of Washington’’, in the eye of the Capitol dome. (6) In 18 7 1, Constantino Brumidi created the first tribute to an African American in the Capitol when he placed the figure of Crispus Attucks at the center of his fresco of the Boston M assacre. (7) In 1878, Constantino Brumidi, at the age of 72 and in poor health, began work on the Rotunda frieze, which chron- icles the history of America. (8) On F ebruary 1 9 , 1880, Constantino Brumidi died at the age of 74, four and a half months after slipping and nearly falling from a scaffold while working on the Rotunda frieze. (9) Constantino Brumidi, proud of his artistic accomplish- ments and devoted to his adopted country, said, ‘‘My one ambi- tion and my daily prayer is that I may live long enough to make beautiful the Capitol of the one country on earth in which there is liberty.’’. (10) Constantino Brumidi’s life and work e x emplify the lives of millions of immigrants who came to pursue the Amer- ican dream. 31USC5 111 note.July 1 ,20 0 8[ S. 25 4]
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