Jurisprudence
Daniel Chester French
Jurisprudence
1912
Marble: 12’ x 7 ½’ x 8’
Daniel Chester French (1850 - 1931) was born in Exeter, New Hampshire to an established New England family. In 1866, French's father moved the family to Concord, Massachusetts, the intellectual capital of New England at the time. French studied briefly at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before deciding to pursue sculpture more seriously. The town of Concord gave Daniel French the opportunity to sculpt his first statue, The Minuteman, at age twenty-three. The success of this piece allowed French an opportunity to study in Florence, Italy until 1876. Through his long and illustrious career as America's preeminent architectural sculptor, French completed over two hundred and fifty adornments and sculptures for federal, municipal, and private commissions. his pinnacle piece was Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. French received many awards and honorarium degrees and sat as trustee and fellow for many societies, including the National Sculpture Society that he founded.
Jurisprudnce and its compliment Commerce are created in the Beaux Arts style that dominated architecture during the turn of the century. The heroic white marble sculptures placed upon ten-foot tall granite plinths, are part of the building facade and illustrate the goal of Beaux Arts that emphasized the integration of art and architecture. Jurisprudence sits upon a throne. In her right arm, she holds a tablet marked LEX, meaning law in Latin, with its attributes: justice, equity, ability, wisdom, piety, security, liberty, firmness, honesty, and trust. Under her left foot is a stack of large books. On the right is a mother and child who represent the protection afforded to the family under the law. To the left, a man crouches, bound in chains, representing punishment to violators of the law. (FA465-B)
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Submitted by
Bryan Arnold
@nanowhiskers