H.R. 1609 (110^th): To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Constantino Brumidi.

On July 26, 1805, Constantino Brumidi was born in Rome, Italy of an Italian mother and a Greek father who inspired him with a love of liberty.

While Constantino Brumidi’s Greek ancestry stirred his passion for liberty and citizenship, his Italian heritage provided the art styles of the Renaissance and the Baroque which influenced the artwork of the United States Capitol.

Constantino Brumidi became a citizen of the United States as soon as he was able, embracing its history, values, and ideals.

Beginning in 1855, Constantino Brumidi designed and decorated one House and five Senate committee rooms in the Capitol, as well as the Senate Reception Room, the Office of the Vice President, and, most notably, the President’s Room, which represents Brumidi’s supreme effort to make beautiful the Capitol of the United States.

In 1865 Constantino Brumidi completed in just 11 months his masterpiece, The Apotheosis of Washington, in the eye of the Capitol dome.

In 1871 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 Massacre.

In 1878 Constantino Brumidi at the age of 72 and in poor health, began work on the Rotunda frieze, which chronicles the history of America.

On February 19, 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.

Constantino Brumidi, proud of his artistic accomplishments and devoted to his adopted country, said, My one ambition 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..

Constantino Brumidi’s life and work exemplify the lives of millions of immigrants who came to pursue the American dream.