~ Liberty Enlightening the World - The Statue of Liberty

Celebrating Independence Day, I am thinking of all those who made such a huge sacrifice in the revolution to make the United States a country unto its own, separate from England. My ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, and those of many of you, believed they could be a nation of states united and free to make their own way as a new country.  A remarkable idea at the time.

Without France, our destiny may have been quite different. The French people also sacrificed greatly for our independence, even if they had little say about the help that came to us. The gift of the Statue of Liberty is a special reminder us of so much. 

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. She is a colossal size neoclassical scuplture of a robed woman who represents Libertas the Roman Goddess of freedom. She holds a torch in one hand, and a tabula ansata, or a tablet evoking the law, in the other on which is inscribed the date July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet which Bartholdi decided not to have her holding . This beautiful piece of art was named and designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue was a gift to the United States from the people of France as a symbol of our countries' friendship.

 

1886 The statue being created in Paris.

1886, the top of the statue in Paris

The original copper finish. 

 

Here you can see patina and oxidation of the copper as we see it today. This is after a long and painstakingly difficult job of cleaning years of dirt and grime. It took many, many years for this statue to be truly appreciated, but today it certainly is.  And it is still a  stunning piece of sculpture, with fabulous patina!

It was, and is, an incredible gift from the French people.
Thank You! We owe you greatly for your help in our Revolution for Independence!
And to our ancestors who gave so much,
we remember you, and thank you every day. 

Happy Independence Day ~ the 4th of July

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