Statue of Liberty
Tommy Short
Final Writing Paper & Creative Project
April 17, 2013
Art 100
The Statue of Liberty towers over the entrance of the New York harbor. The statue presents a woman, draped in a robe, holding a torch in her right hand and tablet in the left.On the tablet is inscribed “July IV MDCCLXXVI,” which represents the sonnet “The New Colosus” written by Emma Lazarus. For U.S citizens, the statue of liberty is a sign of freedom and prosperity, but these views are based on false beliefs and inaccurate information.
The most common story about the statue is that it was given to the U.S from the French as a gift, celebrating the 100th anniversary of America as a country. The true story is much more interesting and reveals the history behind the Statue of Liberty. The statue was originally called “Light of Asia”. It was intended as a gift to the newly inaugurated Egyptian king, Seuz Canal, by the Turkish and funded by its treasury. The statue was designed by Frederick Auguste Bartholdi, a frenchman and one of the most respected sculptures of the 1800’s. The entrance of the canal was to be crowned with a statue depicting a woman towering above the harbor. “She was to be draped in a graceful loose robe, wearing a crown with seven spikes on her head to represent the Ottoman Sultan whose title was the ‘King of Seven Seas.’’(False np) By the time the statue was finished, the Egyptians had won its independence from the Ottomans in the Ottoman war. The new ruler of Egypt, Hidiv Ismail, had many objections to having this statue placed in the middle of the canal, in front of his harbor, one being that such a statue would create mortal sin because it was more pleasing to look at than statues of gods. Another reason being that the statue was of a woman which would create many problems and would go against many Muslim beliefs. Because of this, the statue never left France and was put into storage until a suitable location could be found for it. A year later, in
Final Writing Paper & Creative Project
April 17, 2013
Art 100
The Statue of Liberty towers over the entrance of the New York harbor. The statue presents a woman, draped in a robe, holding a torch in her right hand and tablet in the left.On the tablet is inscribed “July IV MDCCLXXVI,” which represents the sonnet “The New Colosus” written by Emma Lazarus. For U.S citizens, the statue of liberty is a sign of freedom and prosperity, but these views are based on false beliefs and inaccurate information.
The most common story about the statue is that it was given to the U.S from the French as a gift, celebrating the 100th anniversary of America as a country. The true story is much more interesting and reveals the history behind the Statue of Liberty. The statue was originally called “Light of Asia”. It was intended as a gift to the newly inaugurated Egyptian king, Seuz Canal, by the Turkish and funded by its treasury. The statue was designed by Frederick Auguste Bartholdi, a frenchman and one of the most respected sculptures of the 1800’s. The entrance of the canal was to be crowned with a statue depicting a woman towering above the harbor. “She was to be draped in a graceful loose robe, wearing a crown with seven spikes on her head to represent the Ottoman Sultan whose title was the ‘King of Seven Seas.’’(False np) By the time the statue was finished, the Egyptians had won its independence from the Ottomans in the Ottoman war. The new ruler of Egypt, Hidiv Ismail, had many objections to having this statue placed in the middle of the canal, in front of his harbor, one being that such a statue would create mortal sin because it was more pleasing to look at than statues of gods. Another reason being that the statue was of a woman which would create many problems and would go against many Muslim beliefs. Because of this, the statue never left France and was put into storage until a suitable location could be found for it. A year later, in