Christ the Redeemer (statue)

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Italic title Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox monument Christ the Redeemer (Template:Langx, standard {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is an Art Deco statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created by French-Polish sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot. Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida sculpted the face. Constructed between 1922 and 1931, the statue is Template:Convert high, excluding its Template:Convert pedestal. The arms stretch Template:Convert wide.<ref name="brit">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="giumbelli2014">Template:Cite book</ref> It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.<ref name="Largest christ">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Travel Channel">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="BBC">Template:Cite news</ref> Christ the Redeemer differs considerably from its original design, as the initial plan was a large Christ with a globe in one hand and a cross in the other. Although the project organizers originally accepted the design, it later changed to the statue of today, with the arms spread out wide.

The statue weighs 635 metric tons (625 long, 700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the Template:Convert Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. This statue is the largest Art Deco–style sculpture in the world.<ref name="Britannia">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> A symbol of Christianity around the world, the statue has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil and was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.<ref name="Hindustan times">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

File:Marc Ferrez - IMS 007A6P4FP15-015.jpg
A view of Corcovado before the construction, between 1880 and 1900

Vincentian priest Pedro Maria Boss first suggested placing a Christian monument on Mount Corcovado in the mid-1850s to honor Princess Isabel, regent of Brazil and the daughter of Emperor Pedro II, but the project was not approved.<ref name="brit" /> In 1889, the country became a republic, and owing to the separation of church and state, the proposed statue was dismissed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Cristo Redentor em construção (013RJ009013) (cropped).jpg
The peak of Corcovado with the statue under construction, c. 1930−1931

The Catholic Circle of Rio made a second proposal for a landmark statue on the mountain in 1920.<ref name="Riotur" /> The group organized an event called Semana do Monumento ("Monument Week") to attract donations and collect signatures to support the building of the statue. The organization was motivated by what they perceived as "Godlessness" in the society. The donations came mostly from Brazilian Catholics.<ref name="Largest christ" /> The designs considered for the "Statue of the Christ" included a representation of the Christian cross, a statue of Jesus with a globe in his hands, and a pedestal symbolizing the world.<ref name="JB">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Eventually, the statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms, a symbol of peace, was chosen.

Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and artist Carlos Oswald designed the statue.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> French sculptor Paul Landowski created the work.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1922, Landowski commissioned fellow Parisian Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida, who studied sculpture at the Fine Arts Conservatory in Bucharest and in Italy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

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File:Visita de estudantes ao Cristo Redentor, Acervo do Instituto Moreira Salles.jpg
Christ the Redeemer in 1931

A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski's submissions, and they felt building the structure out of reinforced concrete (designed by Albert Caquot) instead of steel was more suitable for the cross-shaped statue. The concrete making up the base was supplied from Limhamn, Sweden.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The outer layers are soapstone, chosen for its enduring qualities and ease of use.<ref name="Travel Channel" /> Construction took nine years, from 1922 to 1931, and cost the equivalent of Template:US$ and the monument opened on October 12, 1931.<ref name="Travel Channel" /><ref name="BBC" /> During the opening ceremony, the statue was to be lit by a battery of floodlights turned on remotely by Italian shortwave radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi, stationed Template:Convert away in Rome but because of bad weather, the lights were activated on site.<ref name="Riotur">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In October 2006, on the 75th anniversary of the statue's completion, Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid, Archbishop of Rio, consecrated a chapel, named after Brazil's patron saint—Our Lady of the Apparition—under the statue, allowing Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.<ref name="BBC" />

Lightning struck the statue during a violent thunderstorm on February 10, 2008, causing some damage to the fingers, head and eyebrows. The Rio de Janeiro state government initiated a restoration effort to replace some of the outer soapstone layers and repair the lightning rods on the statue. Lightning damaged it again on January 17, 2014, dislodging a finger on the right hand.<ref name="Estadão.com.br">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Último Segundo(2)">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Canteiro de Obras">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

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File:Estátua do Cristo Redentor nas cores da Bandeira do Brasil.jpg
The statue lit in the colors of the Flag of Brazil

In 2010, a massive restoration of the statue began. Work included cleaning, replacing the mortar and soapstone on the exterior, restoring iron in the internal structure, and waterproofing the monument. Vandals attacked the statue during renovation, spraying paint along the arm. Mayor Eduardo Paes called the act "a crime against the nation". The culprits later apologized and presented themselves to the police.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Globo vandalism">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Infosur hoy: Christ the Redeemer to get new outfit Template:Webarchive</ref>

In reference to Brazilian striker Ronaldo's usual goal celebration of both arms outstretched, the Pirelli tyre company ran a 1998 commercial in which he replaced the statue while in an Inter Milan strip.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The commercial was controversial with the Catholic Church.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Restoration

File:Christ on Corcovado mountain.JPG
A panoramic view of the statue at the top of Corcovado Mountain with Sugarloaf Mountain (centre) and Guanabara Bay in the background
File:Rio Larson 3.jpg
Christ the Redeemer aerial view with Tijuca Forest
File:Morro do Corcovado.jpg
Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado with Sugarloaf Mountain in background

In 1990, several organizations, including the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, media company Grupo Globo, oil company Shell do Brasil, environmental regulator IBAMA, National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage, and the city government of Rio de Janeiro entered into an agreement to conduct restoration work.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

More work on the statue and its environs was conducted in 2003 and early 2010. In 2003, a set of escalators, walkways, and elevators were installed to facilitate access to the platform surrounding the statue. The four-month restoration in 2010<ref name="BBC, 2010-07-01" /> focused on the statue itself. The statue's internal structure was renovated and its soapstone mosaic covering was restored by removing a crust of fungi and other microorganisms and repairing small cracks. The lightning rods located in the statue's head and arms were also repaired, and new lighting fixtures were installed at the foot of the statue.<ref>Christ the Redeemer se la come, YouTube video, accessed January 20, 2011.</ref>

The restoration involved one hundred people and used more than 60,000 pieces of stone taken from the same quarry as the original statue.<ref name="BBC, 2010-07-01">Template:Cite news</ref> During the unveiling of the restored statue, it was illuminated with green-and-yellow lighting in support of the Brazil national football team playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.<ref name="BBC, 2010-07-01" />

Maintenance work needs to be conducted periodically because of the strong winds and erosion to which the statue is exposed, as well as lightning strikes.<ref name="Veja Rio (27 January 2010)">Template:Cite news</ref> The original pale stone is no longer available in sufficient quantity, and replacement stones are increasingly darker in hue.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Height comparison of notable statues

Similar structures

Angola
Argentina/Chile
Bolivia
Brazil

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Colombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Honduras
India
  • Imitation statue of Christ the Redeemer at Nellore, state of Andhra Pradesh<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Imitation at St. Joseph Shrine, Vizhinjam, near Trivandrum, Kerala, India<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Imitation at Ecopark, Kolkata, India<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Indonesia

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Italy
Philippines

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Lebanon
  • Christ the King, past Nahr al-Kalb on the coast<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Malaysia
Malta

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Mexico

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  • Cristo Rey, at Iglesia de San Martín de Porres near Colonia Los Álamos, Tijuana, Baja California<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Nigeria
Peru
  • Cristo Blanco in Cusco<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Poland
Portugal
Romania
  • Template:Ill in Harghita. Built in 2011, it is 22 metres high and cost 200,000 euros, from donations.
Slovakia

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Spain

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United States of America

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Vietnam
Others

See also

References

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Further reading

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