On the frieze of the Rotunda Brumidi did his last work in the Capitol
Building. This frieze is a belt nine feet wide which circles the Rotunda
58 feet from the floor. The Rotunda is 300 feet in circumference. On
October 1, 1877, the Architect of the Capitol gave the following report,
“The belt of the Rotunda intended to be enriched with basso relievos is
being embellished in real fresco representing in light and shadow events
in our history arranged in chronological order, begining with the
Landing of Columbus and ending with a period of our Revolutionary
history to be decided later.”
According to Brumidi’s signed statement of 1874, earlier quoted, “That
large frieze in the Rotunda was sketched by order of Captain Meigs
before the war,” but the artist was 72 years old before he actually was
allowed to begin painting the frieze in the difficult Rotunda location.
He had in mind fifteen historical scenes planned to cover fifteen
divisions of the frieze and from his file of letters we know how
desperately he worked to finish these frescoes before sickness should
compel him to lay aside his brush. The following four short letters to
the Architect of the Capitol during Brumidi’s last months show the
heroic effort made by the artist to complete his frieze: