The Law, (painting).

The Law, (painting).

Blashfield, Edwin Howland, 1848-1936, painter.

Aderente, Vincent, 1880-1941, painter.

Foringer, Alonzo E., 1878-1948, painter.

The Law, (painting).

Digital Reference:

(Lower left, hidden in woman's skirt:) (signatures of Blashfield, Aderente, and Foringer) signed

Mural illustrating "how the formulation of law was initiated, what law represents, and from where its codification is derived. The central focus of the painting is represented by two substantial and commanding figures of angels gesturing both heavenward and to the decalogue which scrolls up, beyond the limits of the mural. Against this background the depiction of a heaven inspired initiation of the rule of law is then brought down to an earthly level by the representation of the Law as a seated sumptuously robed female figure holding on to a sword of justice as she ponders the case of a woman kneeling at her feet, while an attorney holding a book of laws argues the woman's cause... Flight from the law is show at the left lower quadrant of the mural, where several people are seen turning away and running from the seated figure of Law....The entire scene (is surrounded by) an array of historical personages who, like a panel of jurors, also appears to sit in judgment of the woman whose case is being presented before the Law. The display of historical figures represents those who through the ages stood for law, its development its enforcement, and its codification. 'At the left, beginning from the center, are Moses, Mahomet, Justinian, and a Bishop and a Knight of the times of Magna Charta in England. At the right are Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Napoleon and Lord Mansfield.' The figure of the Bishop was identified as Stephen Langton the archbishop of Canterbury who, along with a number of barons, forced King John to sign the Great Charter (Magna Charta) on June 15, 1215."

Allegory -- Civic -- Law

Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse, 201 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44114

The Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse opened in 1910 and housed the U.S. Post Office, District Court, and Circuit Court. The building was originally know as the Old Federal Building and Post Office, but was renamed on May 27, 1998, in honor of U.S. Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum.

Brochure of the Mural Painters, a National Society Founded 1895, New York: the Kalkhoff Company, 1916.

"Heroes in the fight for beauty: the muralists of the Hudson County Court House," Jersey City: Jersey City Museum, 1986, no. 11, pg. 93.

King, Glenn, 2009.

Weiner, Mina Rieur, ed., "Edwin Howland Blashfield: Master American Muralist," New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company, 2009, pg. 16 and pg. 39.

"Heroes in the fight for beauty: the muralists of the Hudson County Court House," Jersey City: Jersey City Museum, 1986, pg. 46.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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