Christ the Redeemer (statue)

Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: O Cristo Redentor, formerly Portuguese: Christo redemptor) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world.[1] The statue is 39.6 metres (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 meter (31 feet) pedestal, and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. It weighs 635 tons (700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700 metres (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. It is one of the tallest of its kind in the world. The statue of Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia, is slightly taller, standing at 40.44 metres (132.7 ft) tall with its 6.24 metres (20.5 ft) pedestal and 34.20 metres (112.2 ft) wide. A symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil.[2] It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931.[1][3][4]

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 New Seven Wonders of the World
3 Restoration
4 In Popular Culture
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

A view of the statue, as seen from a helicopterThe idea for erecting a large statue atop Corcovado was first suggested in the mid-1850s, when Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss requested financing from Princess Isabel to build a large religious monument. Princess Isabel did not think much of the idea and it was completely dismissed in 1889, when Brazil became a republic with laws mandating the separation of church and state.[5] The second proposal for a landmark statue on the mountain was made in 1921 by the Catholic Circle of Rio.[6] The group organised an event called Semana do Monumento ("Monument Week") to attract donations and collect signatures to support the building of the statue. The donations came mostly from Brazilian Catholics.[1] The designs considered for the "Statue of the Christ" included a representation of the Christian cross, a statue of Jesus with a globe in his hands, and a pedestal symbolizing the world.[7] The statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms was chosen.


The statue from behindLocal engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue; it was sculpted by French sculptor Paul Landowski.[1][8] A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski's submissions and the decision was made to build the structure out of reinforced concrete (designed by Albert Caquot) instead of steel, more suitable for the cross-shaped statue.[5] The outer layers are soapstone, chosen for its enduring qualities and ease of use.[3] Construction took nine years, from 1922 to 1931. The monument was opened on October 12, 1931.[3][4] The cost of the monument was $250,000. The statue was meant to be lit by a battery of floodlights triggered remotely by shortwave radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, stationed 5,700 miles (9,200 km) away in Rome[6], but poor weather affected the signal and it had to be lit by workers in Rio.[5]

In October 2006, on the statue's 75th anniversary, Archbishop of Rio Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid consecrated a chapel (named after the patron saint of Brazil—Nossa Senhora Aparecida, or "Our Lady of the Apparition,") under the statue. This allows Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.[4]

The statue was struck by lightning during a violent electrical storm on Sunday, February 10, 2008 and suffered some damage on the fingers, head and eyebrows. A restoration effort was put in place by the Rio de Janeiro state government and archdiocese, to replace some of the outer soapstone layers and repair the lightning rods installed on the statue.[9][10][11]

On April 15, 2010 graffiti was sprayed on the statue's head and right arm. Mayor Eduardo Paes called the act "a crime against the nation" and vowed to jail the vandals, even offering a reward of R$ 10,000 on any information that may lead to an arrest.[12][13]

[edit] New Seven Wonders of the World
On 7 July 2007, Christ the Redeemer was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a list compiled by the Swiss-based The New Open World Corporation.[14] Leading corporate sponsors, including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo, put large sums of money in the effort to have the statue voted into the top seven.[15]

[edit] Restoration
Declared a protected monument by the National Heritage Institute, IPHAN, in 2009, the Christ the Redeemer monument underwent restoration work in 1980 before the visit of Pope John Paul II.

In 1990, further restoration work was conducted through an agreement between the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, media company Rede Globo, oil company Shell do Brasil, environment regulator IBAMA, National Heritage Secretariat SPHAN and the city government of Rio de Janeiro.

More work on the statue and its environs was conducted in 2003 and early 2010. In 2003, a set of escalators, walkways and elevators was installed to facilitate access to the platform surrounding the statue.

The 2010 restoration, carried out by mining company Vale in partnership with the Archdiocese, focused on the statue itself. The statue’s internal structure was renovated and its soapstone mosaic covering was restored by removing a crust of fungi and other microorganisms and repairing small cracks. The lightning rods located in the statue’s head and arms were also repaired.

Maintenance work needs to be conducted periodically due to the strong winds and rain to which the statue is exposed.[16]

[edit] In Popular Culture
In the 2009 science fiction film, 2012, the statue is seen in news footage being destroyed by a massive earthquake.

In World of Warcraft, there is a similar statue in Booty Bay that can be seen when arriving/leaving on a ship.

In the 2009 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the statue can be seen during the Rio de Janeiro levels.

The statue also features in the video game Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X

[edit] See also
Cristo Redentore, Christ the Redeemer of Maratea, Italy
Christ of Vung Tau in Vietnam (32 m)
Cristo-Rei in Portugal: a 28 meter high replica of Christ the Redeemer
Cerro del Cubilete in Guanajuato, Mexico: a 23 meter high statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer
Christ of the Ozarks in Arkansas, USA: a 20 meter high statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer
Christ of Havana in Havana, Cuba: a 20 meter high statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer
Christ the Redeemer of the Andes (Argentina/Chile)
Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Cristo Blanco in Cuzco, Peru
Cristo de las Noas in Torreón, Mexico
Christ of the Abyss in various underwater locations
Cristo Redentor del Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
[edit] References
1.^ a b c d "Christ the redeemer". TIME. 1931-10-26. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742502,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
2.^ "The new Seven Wonders of the world". Hindustan Times. 2007-07-08. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=c7e6494a-0e6c-46b4-9982-60b6b4bf20c1&ParentID=f702d4d5-e16e-4a07-bd0a-5bebf5c9b825&MatchID1=4488&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=10&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1120&PrimaryID=4488&Headline=The+new+Seven+Wonders+of+the+World. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
3.^ a b c "Brazil: Crocovado mountain - Statue of Christ". Travel Channel. http://travel.discovery.com/video/video.html?videoRef=c8fbe1ab8af1bb5087cbd1d996d8baf851e4672b. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
4.^ a b c "Sanctuary Status for Rio landmark". BBC. 2006-10-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6046538.stm. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
5.^ a b c "O Dia Online - Cristo Redentor". http://odia.terra.com.br/especial/outros/cristo70/historia.htm.
6.^ a b "Cristo Redentor - Histórico da Construção" (in Portuguese). http://www.rio.rj.gov.br/riotur/pt/atracao/?CodAtr=3912. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
7.^ Victor, Duilo (2005-10-12). "Redentor, carioca até a alma" (in Portuguese). Jornal do Brasil. http://jbonline.terra.com.br/jb/papel/cidade/2005/10/11/jorcid20051011001.html. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
8.^ Phillip, Martin (2007-06-16). "Vote now for Phonehenge". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007270934,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
9.^ "Cristo Redentor vai passar por restauração até junho (Christ the Redeemer under restoration 'til June)". Estadão. 2010-04-01. http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,cristo-redentor-vai-passar-por-restauracao-ate-junho,532383,0.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
10.^ Moratelli, Valmir (2010-04-01). "Cristo Redentor, castigado por raios, passa por ampla reforma (Christ the Redeemer, punished by lightnings, go by ample refit)". Último Segundo. http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/brasil/2010/04/01/cristo+redentor+castigado+por+raios+passa+por+ampla+reforma+9445658.html. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
11.^ ["Cristo Redentor renovado para 2010" www.obras.rj.gov.br/boletins/Boletim_Dezembro_2009.pdf ""Cristo Redentor renovado para 2010""]. Rio de Janeiro Government. 2010-Dec. "Cristo Redentor renovado para 2010" www.obras.rj.gov.br/boletins/Boletim_Dezembro_2009.pdf. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
12.^ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63F49G20100416
13.^ Tabak, Bernardo (2010-04-15). "Estátua do Cristo Redentor é alvo de pichação". Globo. http://g1.globo.com/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2010/04/estatua-do-cristo-amanhece-pichada.html. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
14.^ "Global vote picks Seven Wonders. It was drew by Carlos Oswald, whose family still lives in Rio and apreciate a lot his work.". BBC News. 2007-07-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6281284.stm. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
15.^ Dwoskin, Elizabeth (2007-07-09). "Vote for Christ". Newsweek (copy). http://www.new7wonders.com/file/download/mediendb/1/id/15597/. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
16.^ "Reforma no cartão-postal". Veja Rio. 2010-05-18. http://vejabrasil.abril.com.br/rio-de-janeiro/editorial/m1682/reforma-no-cartao-postal. Retrieved 2010-05-18.