Abraham Lincoln Memorial Analysis

Improved Essays
During my visit in June, 2015 at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial across from Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., I was intrigued by how much detail was shown throughout the entire sculpture giving its presence a powerful message. The building contains a large sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and two speeches that he wrote having a significant impact in the United States of America. There were multiple parties involved in the completion of the artwork, but who was behind it was Henry Bacon. Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) was an American sculptor who was deeply influenced by May Alcott, which was his sister and he was fascinated with Greek architect, in fact later on influenced him in constructing the temple in which lies the Statue of Abraham Lincoln. The statue consists with mass amounts of lines that forms the sculpture of size in reference to height and width and also to to …show more content…
The lighting of the monument actually changes throughout the day due to the sunlight transitioning to different spots of the museum, but at night the monument has lights angling downward toward the sculpture, giving it more of a significance of shading overall presenting Abraham Lincoln’s character and or actions seemingly more powerful. The type of medium that was used I find to be is perfect for this type of artwork because the Georgia white marble reflects light and with the right amount of light, the piece expresses more detail. The amount of contrast is consistent of light vs. dark depending again on the type of lighting that is present. Being A –symmetrical, meaning if you fold it in half, it is not the exact same on either side, it has balance meaning the distribution of the piece is offset to one another making it pleasant and easier to

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Lincoln Memorial Essay

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It was a breezy, cloudy day, sometime around 1:15 pm on a Monday afternoon, with a slight chance of rain, and a lot of people present. Sitting there was President Abraham Lincoln, white faced covered in marble, facing the Washington Monument, another great historical location, about 1.5 miles apart from each other. Also surrounded by a lot of historical memorials like: The Korean War Veterans Memorial, and The Vietnam Veteran Memorial. Standing tall the Lincoln Memorial is surrounded by large pillars, covered in white marble and dirt by the hands of time. Looking on top of the memorial you can see the American states that had sided with The Union, and on top of that is a nice old, classy crown design that reflects off of the honor of the states.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution, James McPherson discusses not only the many changes wrought upon the United States because of the Civil War, but also the ways in which President Abraham Lincoln was instrumental in the carrying out of these changes. When Lincoln gave his inaugural address, he spoke only of the Union, but by the time he gave his infamous Gettysburg address, he spoke only of a united nation (McPherson, viii). A nation he united through “revolution”—a complete “overthrow of the existing social and political order by internal violence” (McPherson, 16). The Civil War was revolutionary in that it led to “the liberation of four million slaves”, and that it was a triumph of “industrialism over agriculture”, and “the bourgeoisie over the plantation gentry” (McPherson, 6, 9). The Civil War freed the slaves, thus leading to a drastic shift in the social structure of America.…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Life of Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was born to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln on February 12, 1809 (Zall 7). He was born in Hardin County, Kentucky. He has two siblings: Sarah, born in 1807, and Thomas, born in 1812 and died three days after birth (Brookhiser 15). His father was a respectable and prosperous farmer and a carpenter.…

    • 1623 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Joseph McCarthy and Margaret Chase Smith were both Republican Senators that had strong opinions about communism. Even though they were both anti-communism, their opinions on communism in the USA were completely opposite of one another. In Senator McCarthy’s Lincoln Day speech to the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, he talked about how he thought his fellow senators needed to realize that communism is a quickly rising issue, while Senator Smith refutes McCarthy in her “Declaration of Conscience” speech by writing about how she felt that her fellow Republicans were shaming and labeling anyone that was a little bit different or spoke their mind. McCarthy begins his speech by mentioning Abraham Lincoln and how he yearned for…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After the Nebraska and Kansas act of 1854, the problems between the North and the South grew. Lincoln’s confessed that his true goal was to stop the expansion of slavery from spreading into other territories within the nation. As war broke out, he was compelled by the Northern states and abolitionists to stress that the Union army’s main war focus was on freedom. The only problem was, Lincoln want to focus on the save the Union and reinstate the national authority over the South once more. President Lincoln wanted to preserve the Union over freeing the slaves, multiple of times he expressed his want to bring the country back together and forget about freeing the slaves entirely.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Given a scenario in which a person stated they were against slavery at one time but also proclaimed they believed whites were superior over blacks during another time, which side would you think they were on? I would argue that the person was not supportive of abolishing slavery. Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States during the Civil War, believed that slavery was immoral because he thought African Americans and whites were equivalent. Even though Abraham Lincoln presumed slavery as immoral, he doesn’t deserve the title of the “Great Emancipator.” Lincoln did not consider blacks equal when compared to whites.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The societies today and the country whole, would not be like the way it is today if it wasn 't for our great leader stepping up as the leader he is today when America is in this time of need. Abraham Lincoln was not only our 16th president but also our father in freedom. The book Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution by James M. McPherson will tell you how America had its role in the revolution to freedom. At this point in America, a lot of recessions have occurred in the country and they know that war is coming and it would either destroy or unite a nation that once existed. First, a leader must need to lead into war with a goal set for success, peace, and freedom.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The common conception of President Abraham Lincoln painted the picture of a goodhearted, moral, man who wanted nothing except for the abolition of slavery. This perception, however, was completely inaccurate. Calling Lincoln the Great Emancipator instigates the idea that Lincoln was a wholehearted abolitionist; when in reality, he had no original desire to emancipate slavery. Lincoln earned this nickname through the passage of both the Confiscation Act and the Emancipation Proclamation. The two major acts were only created and passed due to a state of emergency within the United States.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In its entirety, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial effectively embodies the political juggernaut to whom the site is dedicated. Considering the historical and cultural context and impact of the memorial, visitors can better comprehend the dynamic American era that lasted four presidential terms and included World War Two and the Great Depression. On a more recent level, the FDR Memorial can be connected to today’s popular culture, as it has been depicted in a fictional Washington by Netflix’s House of Cards. Due to its inclusivity and lasting relevance, the FDR Memorial can be considered as one of the most appropriately comprehensive depictions of American history. Before the seven and a half acre memorial opened in 1997 as the official…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    President Abraham Lincoln the sixteenth president of the United States, was elected in 1860. During his presidency, he had numerous attempts on his life, due to the citizen 's seeing him as a villain. Copperheads and Southern men tried infecting him (with small pox), kidnapping him, and offering a bounty on him. They finally succeeded on April 15, 1865 when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at the theatre in Washington, D.C.1. When in power he worked towards the sustainment of the Union, He trumped over American 's rights, and suspended many during The Civil War.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abraham Lincoln was an amazing man. He was the man who ended slavery in the U.S.A. and helped us through the civil war. I am going to the Lincoln Memorial to learn more about him. I am a historian ready to learn. As I got to the memorial I heard a loud scraping sound.…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    About Abraham Lincoln when they built his memorial. Like an astonishing 4 million people visit the iconic landmark every…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As the war came to a close in 1865, the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, went to the Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. to enjoy the show, American Cousin, with his wife. Little did President Lincoln know is that John Wilkes Booth, a southerner and firm believer in slavery and white supremacy, had different plans for their night. In between a pause for one of the acts, the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, shot the president in the back of the head. Booth then jumped from the press box, held a dagger in the air while screaming words that are indecipherable, then ran to make his escape.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abraham Lincoln was our 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was an amusing president for what he did for our country. His life was not the funnest; he had a tough time. He did amazing things when he was in office.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many people looked at Abraham Lincoln and thought of him as the 16th President of the United States. In reality, he wanted people to see him, as he wrote in the opening of his letter to Jesse W. Fell, as “modest and not to go beyond the material. ”1 Lincoln wasn’t interested in what people thought he was, but more about how he wanted the public to see him. He conveyed the feeling that he was not anyone special and in fact an ordinary man. In the autobiographies of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln illustrated the idea that he was one of common people and nothing more.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays