వైపులా చాచిన ఓ పెద్ద క్రీస్తు విగ్రహం. ఆర్ట్‌డికో పద్ధతిలో పోతపోసిన
విగ్రహాల్లో ఇది ప్రపంచంలోనే ఎత్తయినది. ఆ మధ్య కొత్తగా ప్రకటించిన ఏడు
ప్రపంచ కొత్త వింతల్లో ఇది కూడా ఒకటి. ఇదెక్కడుందో తెలుసా? బ్రెజిల్‌లోని
రియోడిజనీరోలో ఓ కొండ మీద. ఆ కొండే 2296 అడుగుల ఎత్తుగా ఉంటుంది. దాని మీద
సుమారు 30 అడుగుల ఎత్తయిన దిమ్మ. ఆ దిమ్మపై సుమారు 100 అడుగుల విగ్రహం.
దీని వెడల్పు 98 అడుగులు. అందుకే ఈ భారీ విగ్రహం ఆ చుట్టుపక్కల వందల
కిలోమీటర్ల దూరం నుంచి కూడా కనిపిస్తూ ఉంటుంది. ఇంతకీ ఈ విగ్రహం పేరేంటో
తెలుసా? ‘క్రీస్ట్‌ ద రెడీమర్‌’.
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.
నాటిది. కానీ అప్పటి యువరాణి ఇసాబెల్‌ పెద్దగా ఆసక్తి చూపలేదు. తిరిగి
1921లో ప్రయత్నాలు మొదలయ్యాయి. ఎన్నో నమూనాలు పరిశీలించి, చివరికి చేతులు
చాపినట్టు ఉన్న నమూనానే ఎంచుకున్నారు. ఎందుకంటే దేవుడికి అందరి పట్లా అంత
ప్రేమ ఉంటుందని చెప్పడానికి. ఆపై ప్రజల నుంచి విరాళాలు సేకరించి నిర్మాణం
ప్రారంభించారు. తొమ్మిదేళ్ల పాటు శ్రమించి 1931లో పూర్తిచేశారు. ఈ విగ్రహం
బరువెంతో తెలుసా? 700 టన్నులు. అప్పట్లో దీని నిర్మాణానికి 11 కోట్ల
రూపాయలపైనే అయ్యింది. ఇది 2007 జులై 7న ప్రకటించిన ఏడు కొత్త వింతల్లో
చోటు దక్కించుకుంది.
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.
of triangular soapstone tiles, sits on a square stone pedestal base
about 26 feet (8 metres) high, which itself is situated on a deck atop
the mountain’s summit. The statue is the largest Art Deco-style
sculpture in the world.
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
arms create the holy figure of the Latin cross — a balanced proportion
that not only pleases the human eye but also invokes strong emotion as
Christian iconography. The construction materials used to make the
Christ the Redeemer statue are light-colored, readily reflecting light
from the sun, the moon, and surrounding spotlights. Even if you couldn’t
see the sculptural details, the image of a white cross is always there.
The statue is a modernist style called art deco yet it is as
approachable and inviting as any Renaissance religious figure.
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.
