You may not know the name but I’m willing to bet you will recognize it when you see it. Christ the Redeemer is a mighty stone monument that towers over the people of Brazil. It’s even more intriguing given the religious connotations of the statue and also of the country itself.

Motivation

In the mid 19th century, the suggestion of a large religious statue was debated. The idea was brought up by Father Pedro Maria Boss (who was a Catholic priest) in conversations with Princess _____1_____ of Spain in the 1850s. Although, this didn’t go any further for many decades even though it was meant to honor royalty. One of the main reasons for building the sculpture was to mark an important anniversary for the country. This was to celebrate _____2_____ years since Brazil became independent from _____3_____. Eventually, Brazilian President Epitacio Pessoa gave the green light for the project to go ahead.

Construction

Prior to construction, several designs were proposed by a few different sculptors in the early 20th century. A final decision wasn’t made until after they began building the pedestal. One design idea was to have Christ holding a _____4_____ in his hand representing planet Earth.

Money was accepted from the public to pay for the construction of the statue and most of these donations came from Catholics living in Brazil. Building work first began on the 4th of April _____5_____ starting with the base. Construction on top of a mountain was tough going. They had to use a _____6______ system to transport building materials up to the summit. The statue has gone through extensive cleaning and repair over the decades.

Important Figures

The construction work was overseen by two engineers. One was named Albert Caquot and the other was Heitor da Silva Costa who was local to the area. The French artist responsible for the monument’s creation was a sculptor by the name of Paul Landowski. A separate craftsman was responsible for specifically shaping the _____7_____. He was a Romanian man called Gheorghe Leonida and another artist named Carlos Oswald also helped out with the figure’s pose.

Description

Christ the Redeemer has the alternative name of Cristo Redentor in the Portuguese language. The subject of the sculpture is meant to be a portrayal of Jesus Christ. You can see him posing in a _____8_____ as he would have been positioned during his crucifixion and many local people view the statue symbolically as a protector. The figure was built in an art deco style and is also officially the biggest art deco sculpture in the whole world. The material used to craft the statue is mostly concrete with a layer of soapstone tiles on the exterior.

Christ the Redeemer is only _____9_____ feet tall which is surprising to some as it has a rather dominating presence and reputation. It stands on top of a stone pedestal which itself has a height of 26 feet. When you take the mountain into account underneath, the sculpture towers 2,310 feet above Rio de Janeiro. Interestingly, Christ the Redeemer is only the _____10_____ largest statue to portray Jesus Christ. The length from one outstretched hand to the other is 92 feet which almost matches its height. The monument is estimated to weigh roughly 635 tonnes.

Christ the Redeemer is located in South America. It is situated in Rio de Janeiro which used to be the capital city of Brazil. To be more specific, the sculpture resides in Tijuca National Forest on top of _____11_____ Mountain. Authorities decided to build the statue on top of a mountain because they wanted everyone to be able to see it even from very far away.

Almost as magnificent as the wonder is the view that you can see from where the statue sits overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Although, you will need to reach the top of the mountain if you wish to take in the jaw-dropping splendor.