Redepicting Washington

"Washington never wore a wig in his entire life, and he certainly never had wooden teeth," said Mount Vernon spokesperson Emily Coleman. "When people see him as the tall, red-headed frontiersman that he was they will be shocked."

Coleman explained that when the forensic investigation, which could be the most extensive of its kind, concludes in August, the data will be used to construct three sculptures of Washington.

The first will show him as a 19-year-old surveyor and frontiersman. The second will show him as a 45-year-old war leader. The last sculpture will depict Washington as the 57-year-old first president. . .

Jeffrey Schwartz, who is leading the investigation . . . said that while it is true Washington was very tall for his time — around 6'3" — the story that he had very large hips because of his horsemanship could be a myth. Measurements of a life-size marble statue by Jean Antoine Houdon at the Virginia State Capitol Building indicate that Washington had average-sized hips and was not as brawny as some myths perpetuate.

And how can they be certain Houdon did not idealize Washington's bodily proportions just as he did his face? It would appear that the new depictions will focus on Washington's mouth, working from surviving dentures and a single life mask, with some de-idealizing of his skin in accord with his having gone through "smallpox, the malaria, and flu" when young. Full story here.

Posted by David on February 4, 2005 1:20 PM