Frédéric “Auguste” Bartholdi was born in Comar, France in 1791 to parents Jean Charles Bartholdi and Augusta Charlotte Bartholdi. When Auguste was just two years old, his father died. Soon thereafter, Auguste, along with his mother and older brother, moved to Paris to be closer to another branch of the Bartholdi family.
Auguste was a student of the arts. He studied drawing, painting, sculpting, and architecture. He was most impressed with and often visited the workshops of noted sculptors Antoine Etex and Jean-François Soitoux. Auguste’s interests were in the creation of monuments to historical figures and patriotic celebrations. In 1854, Auguste began drawing what became his first real monument to honor a French Army officer during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. He completed the bronze statue of General Rapp in 1855 and presented it at the Universal Exhibition of Parish. In the following year, it was placed atop a pedestal in Auguste and General Rapp’s hometown of Colmar. Auguste created a handful of other bronze sculptures of notable French patriots.
The viceroy of Egypt learned of Auguste’s talent and hired him to design a statue of a robed female Saeid Misr or “Upper Egyptian,” to be built at the entryway of the Suez Canal in Port Said, Egypt. It was to be called Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia. Auguste got to work right away. He took inspiration from the giant ancient Egyptian statues at Abu Simbel, Egypt. He researched the Colossus of Rhodes which was built at the entrance to the island’s main port in 280 B.C. The Colossus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and stood for almost a thousand years until, according to some sources, an Arab force conquered Rhodes and completely destroyed the statue.
Auguste complete sketches and even a watercolor painting of Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia. He designed the 86-foot-tall female statue to sit atop a 48-foot-tall pedestal. Auguste knew that this statue on such a grand scale would certainly be his masterpiece. Auguste met with the viceroy and displayed his sketches, paintings, and architectural drawings of the statue. The viceroy was certainly impressed, but the cost to construct the statue was just too great. The viceroy had no choice but to discontinue work on Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia. In 1869, the Port Said Lighthouse was built where Auguste’s statue would have stood. Auguste was understandably disappointed.
In the following year, 1870, France was embroiled in the Franco-Prussian War. Auguste served as a squadron leader of the National Guard and liaison officer during the war. He took part in the unsuccessful defense of Colmar from Germany. When the war ended in 1871, Auguste began constructing numerous monuments in honor of French heroism in the region. All the while, he kept thinking about the statue that would have been his masterpiece. He was determined to build it, but who would pay the enormous price to construct it? He ultimately convinced the French government to help in the form of public fees. They held various forms of fundraisers such as theatrical events, art exhibits, auctions, and a lottery. In 1883, poet Emma Lazarus wrote her famous sonnet entitled “The New Colossus” to be auctioned for the statue’s construction.
Finally, Auguste had the funds to build his masterpiece. He recycled and modified his original female “Upper Egyptian” design along with the statue’s original title Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia to better fit the statue’s intended placement. In July 1884, Auguste completed his 151-foot masterpiece, and the statue stood tall above the rooftops of Paris for two years. Then, the statue was disassembled, packed up, shipped to what was then called Bedloe’s Island, and reassembled where it remains to this day. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi recycled the look of Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia and renamed the statue Liberty Enlightening the World. You and I know Auguste’s recycled masterpiece as the Statue of Liberty.
Sources:
1. The Statue of Liberty: Overview + History, Ellis Island Foundation, https://www.statueofliberty.org/statue-of-liberty/overview-history/
2. Auguste Bertholdi – Father of the Statue of Liberty, Colmar et sa region, L’Alsace essentielle, https://www.tourisme-colmar.com/en/visit/presentation/history/famous-people-from-colmar/176-auguste-bartholdi-father-of-the-statue-of-liberty#:~:text=Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric%20Auguste%20Bartholdi%2C%20the%20most,to%20go%20live%20in%20Paris.
3. Gabriela Hammond, “The Woman Behind the Statue of Liberty: Who is Lady Liberty,” February 15, 2021, https://www.statueoflibertytour.com/blog/the-woman-behind-the-statue-of-liberty-who-is-lady-liberty/