బ్రెజిల్‌ పేరు చెబితే చాలు గుర్తొచ్చేంతలా ప్రపంచ వ్యాప్తంగా ప్రాచుర్యం పొందిన ఈ విగ్రహాన్ని ఇప్పుడు మరింత పటిష్టంగా తీర్చిదిద్దుతున్నారు. అక్కడి వాతావరణానికి సరిపోయే పదార్థాలతో దానికి కోటింగ్‌ వేస్తున్నారు. ఆ మధ్య ఓ పెద్ద తుపాను బ్రెజిల్‌ని వూపేసింది. ఎన్నో చెట్లు, భవనాలు నేలకూలాయి. అంతటి తుపాను ధాటికి కూడా ఈ విగ్రహం చెక్కచెదరలేదు. ఎందుకంటే దాని పైపూతలకు వాడిన సోప్‌స్టోన్‌ పదార్థం మెరుపులు, పిడుగుల నుంచి రక్షణ కల్పించిందట. అయితే ఆ భారీ వర్షాల వల్ల అక్కడక్కడ కొద్దిగా పెచ్చులూడింది. అందుకే ఇప్పుడీ ముస్తాబు.
Cristo Redentor - Rio de Janeiro - 360 Degree Spherical Video
The statue of Christ the Redeemer was completed in 1931 and stands 98 feet (30 metres) tall, its horizontally outstretched arms spanning 92 feet (28 metres). The statue has become emblematic of both the city of Rio de Janeiro and the whole nation.
In the 1850s the Vincentian priest Pedro Maria Boss suggested placing a Christian monument on Mount Corcovado to honour Isabel, princess regent of Brazil and the daughter of Emperor Pedro II, although the project was never approved. In 1921 the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro proposed that a statue of Christ be built on the 2,310-foot (704-metre) summit, which, because of its commanding height, would make it visible from anywhere in Rio. Citizens petitioned Pres. Epitácio Pessoa to allow the construction of the statue on Mount Corcovado.
Permission was granted, and the foundation stone of the base was ceremonially laid on April 4, 1922—to commemorate the centennial on that day of Brazil’s independence from Portugal—although the monument’s final design had not yet been chosen. That same year a competition was held to find a designer, and the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa was chosen on the basis of his sketches of a figure of Christ holding a cross in his right hand and the world in his left. In collaboration with Brazilian artist Carlos Oswald, Silva Costa later amended the plan; Oswald has been credited with the idea for the figure’s standing pose with arms spread wide. The French sculptor Paul Landowski, who collaborated with Silva Costa on the final design, has been credited as the primary designer of the figure’s head and hands. Funds were raised privately, principally by the church. Under Silva Costa’s supervision, construction began in 1926 and continued for five years. During that time materials and workers were transported to the summit via railway.
After its completion, the statue was dedicated on October 12, 1931. Over the years it has undergone periodic repairs and renovations, including a thorough cleaning in 1980, in preparation for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Brazil that year, and a major project in 2010, when the surface was repaired and refurbished. Escalators and panoramic elevators were added beginning in 2002; previously, in order to reach the statue itself, tourists climbed more than 200 steps as the last stage of the trip. In 2006, to mark the statue’s 75th anniversary, a chapel at its base was consecrated to Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil.
5 Reasons Why Christ the Redeemer Statue Is So Popular.
1. Proportion and Scale
Christ takes the form of man, designed with human proportions but of super-human or superman size. From afar, the statue is a cross in the sky. Close up, the statue's size overwhelms the human form. This duality of proportion is intriguing and humbling to the human soul. The ancients Greeks knew the power of proportion and scale in design. Leonardo da Vinci may have popularized the "sacred geometry" of the Vetruvian Man figure, with arms outstretched within circles and squares, but it was architect Marcus Vitruvius (81 B.C. – A.D. 15) who noticed and documented the proportions of the human form — way back before the birth of Jesus Christ. The symbolism attached to the Christian Latin cross is profound, yet its simple design can be traced back to ancient Greece.
2. Aesthetics
3. Engineering and Preservation
Building a large but delicate-looking structure at the top of a very steep mountain was an accomplishment similar to engineering the historic skyscrapers being built in Chicago and New York City during the same time period. Actual onsite construction didn't begin until 1926, with the building of the pedestal and chapel. Scaffolding in the form of the outstretched figure was erected on top of that base. Workers were transported by rail up the mountain to assemble the steel mesh that would reinforce the concrete. The magnitude of any large structure gives architecture a "wow" factor. For the Christ the Redeemer statue, each hand is 10.5 feet long. Thousands of triangular tiles of soapstone are inlaid into the steel-reinforced concrete. Cristo Redentor has braved the elements, including several lightening strikes, since it was completed in 1931. Designers planned for continued maintenance by creating internal areas with access doors to various parts of the statue. Professional cleaning companies such as Karcher North America have been seen straddling a hand while cleaning the tiles.
4. Symbolism
Architectural statuary is often symbolic, like the figures within the pediment of the New York Stock Exchange or the western pediment of the U.S. Supreme Court building. Statues are often used as an expression of belief or what is valued by a corporation or group of people. Statues have also been used to symbolize a person's life and work, such as the Lei Yixin-designed Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C. Sculpture can have multiple meanings, as it does with Christ the Redeemer — the sign of the cross is forever present on a mountaintop, the remembrance of a crucifixion, the reflection of God's light, the strong, loving, and forgiving human face of God, and the blessing of a community by an ever present deity. For Christians, the statue of Jesus Christ may be more than a symbol. The Christ the Redeemer statue announces to the world that Rio de Janeiro is a Christian city.
5. Architecture as Protection and Collaboration
If architecture includes everything in the built environment, we look at the purpose of this statue as we would any other structure. Why is it here? Like other buildings, the placement on the site (its location) is an important aspect. The statue of Christ the Redeemer has become a symbolic protector of people. Like Jesus Christ, the statue protects the urban environment, like a roof over your head. Cristo Redentor is as important as any shelter. Christ the Redeemer provides protection for the soul.
The Christ the Redeemer statue was designed by Brazilian engineer and architect Heitor da Silva Costa. Born in Rio de Janeiro on July 25, 1873, da Silva Costa had sketched a figure of Christ in 1922 when the foundation was laid. He won the statue design competition, but the open-arm design may have been the idea of artist Carlos Oswald (1882-1971), who helped da Silva Costa with the final sketches.
Another influence on the design was from French sculptor Paul Landowski (1875-1961). In his studio in France, Landowski made scale models of the design and separately sculpted the head and hands. Because this structure would be open to the elements of wind and rain, additional construction guidance was given by the French engineer Albert Caquot (1881-1976).
A Walk On Christ The Redeemer | Repairing the Statue in Rio
It is stunning how many people it takes to bring a building idea to reality. When we realize all of the people involved in a project such as this, we may pause and reflect that collaboration may be the real reason that the Christ the Redeemer statue is so popular. Nobody can do it alone. This is architecture for our spirit and soul.
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