Statue of Liberty

Half people nearly four million visitors a year and the Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous landmarks in the world. This statue was a gift that France did to the US in 1886 to commemorate the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. It is a World Heritage Site since 1984.
Statue of Liberty, is one of the most famous landmarks in New York, the United States and around the world. It is located on Liberty Island south of Manhattan Island, near the mouth of the Hudson River and nearby Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French to the Americans in 1886 to commemorate the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence and as a sign of friendship between the two nations. It was inaugurated on October 28, 1886 in the presence of President of the time, Grover Cleveland. The statue is the work of French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and the internal structure was designed by engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.2 French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the choice of copper used for the construction of the statue. On October 15, 1924, the statue was declared a national monument in the United States and 15 October 1965 Ellis Island was added. Since 1984 is considered World Heritage by the Unesco.2

The Statue of Liberty, besides being an important monument in the city of New York, became a symbol in the US and represents, on a more general level, freedom and emancipation from oppression. Since its opening in 1886, the statue was the first vision that Europeans had to reach the United States after crossing the Atlantic Ocean immigrants. In architectural terms, the statue recalls the famous Colossus of Rhodes, one of the "seven wonders of the world." She was nominated for the "new world wonders" where he was a finalist. The name assigned by Unesco is "National Monument Statue of Liberty." Since June 10, 1933 is responsible for its administration the National Park Service of the United States.


There are several hypotheses of historians on the model that could have been used to determine the face of the statue, although none of them is really final until momento.6 Possible inspirations for the face of the statue is Isabella Eugenie Boyer, widow millionaire inventor Isaac Singer.7

According to other sources, Bartholdi would have been inspired by the face of his mother, Charlotte Bartholdi (1801-1891), and is the hypothesis considered to presente.8 National Geographic magazine supported this possibility, indicating that the sculptor never explained nor denied this similarity with madre.9 Other versions claim that Bartholdi would have liked to reproduce the face of a girl perched on a barricade holding a torch, the day after the coup of Napoleon III.10 Perhaps just made a synthesis of several female faces in order to give a neutral and impersonal image of Liberty.