"Michelangelo of the Capital" Also Painted Religious Art

THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER
By Joseph Pronechen

Murals like this one of Mary are being restored in two New York City churches.

WASHINGTON, DC---In July 11, 2012, painter Constantino Brumidi was honored in Washington, when House and Senate leaders awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously. At the presentation, House Speaker John Boehner started his remarks by saying: "‘An answer to a prayer’ is how the curator for the architect of the Capitol has described Brumidi’s arrival in this city at the end of 1854. And rightly so." Italian immigrant Brumidi arrived to decorate the interior of the Capitol. Brumidi also painted magnificent religious murals and frescoes, including several of the largest Crucifixion scenes in the country in Manhattan. The Church of St. Stephen/Our Lady of the Scapular has 45 Brumidi works, which makes for the largest number by this artist in a single church. [link]