Alexander whitaker 1815 portrait of dorian

The Magazine ANTIQUES | January 2009

Lacking eyewitness accounts or written records, Chapman joined the ranks of historical painters and wove a few factual threads together to produce a finished tapestry of image and meaning.

Since ancient times, people have learned the lessons of religion, philosophy, and history from the art in churches, temples, and public places.

The government buildings in Washington repeat this pattern, particularly the Capitol. Its Rotunda, completed in 1824 and originally ornamented with four murals by John Trumbull (1756-1843) depicting scenes from American history, has been called by many the symbolic heart of the United States.

While Trumbull’s commission had been decided by a nearly unified Congress, when the question of completing four additional murals for the Rotunda was raised in 1828, the discussion was so contentious that it was ultimately swept away in a storm of political, local, and regional squabbling.

In 1834 a committee of the H