The Alamo CenotaphBy Pompeo Coppini, Sculptor

“From the fire that burned their bodies rose the eternal spirit of sublime, heroic sacrifice which gave birth to an Empire State”

The above words written by the sculptor Pompeo Coppini (“Pep” to his close friends) appear below the front of the cenotaph, and the depiction is (in “Pep’s own words):

“…symbolic of that heroic, noble sublime sacrifice, rising from the death of the flesh, from the funeral pyre on which all of the bodies were burned by the victor, after being killed in the fiercest, uneven struggle for their adopted country’s liberty and independence ever put up by small band of the greatest heroes ever known in our history, and as they dedicated themselves to such a fate, so by their death the state of Texas may be born…”

Again more words from the sculptor himself in a “Radio Talk” on station KTSA, delivered on January 23rd, at 1:30-1:45 PM, here in San Antonio, Texas…

The above picture depicts Coppini working on the clay model of the “Spirit of Sacrifice”, in which he intended as a symbolic allusion to (in his words):

“…Their soul ascends into heaven, emanating from their mangled burning flesh. The Spirit of Sacrifice goes on and on to reach glorious immortality, and it shall continue to furnish an inspiration, patriotic devotion and a sense of gratifying pride to the present and future generations…”

Coppini strove to inspire, especially the youth of our Nation, as he states:

“…Love of country, or love of anything beautiful, once seeded in the young people’s hearts and minds, can never be erased for the duration of their lives, and we can never do enough in bringing to their attention examples that are bound to mould their character in the right direction, as if it is not done at their tender age, they will be made easy prey for subversive propaganda by the demagogues whose interest it is to destroy any attempt to build by striking at the foundation…”

He thus felt that memorials were as important as was schooling, so that inspiration and philosophical stirrings would affect the educated as well as the illiterate. In this radio talk show, Coppini goes on to state his inspiration for the Alamo (an Hispanic term for Cottonwood trees) and the cenotaph rose from his desire to portray Travis in the act of drawing his sword thru the sand and asking that those who wished to stand with him step across the line, with Bowie asking his companions to carry his cot across.

In Coppini’s mind (in his own words):

“…to my own mind it was then, and only then, that that group of men became the greatest heroes in our history, as they refused to escape their tragic fate…”

He was prevented by prevailing sentiments from portraying this very image. So instead he chose to portray the character of that group of men and women by singling out selected individuals and attempting to portray these representatives of the group so that the spirit of sacrifice and the banding together of these men and women in that tragic struggle, and the ultimate sacrifice to which they all achieved heroic stature.

In the below photo, one can see the sculptor working with the clay model as he worked to capture the characters of Travis and Davy Crockett in full relief, while behind them, in engaged sculpture are a group of unnamed heroes of the Alamo.

Travis with his unsheathed sword alludes to the “Line in the Sand”, and his countenance is one of grim and grave responsibility as he contemplates the sacrifice that he is asking the members of his troop to offer, and Crockett with a more relaxed attitude, always ready with a joke or smile to cheer on the men during that siege. Note also the two younger men at the far right of the sculpture, where Coppini was attempting to portray (in his own words):

“…how those young heroes felt after knowing they had dedicated themselves to a certain death. In their far-away look, they express how their mind wandered far, far away, thinking of their dear ones who they left far in other states, or of the effect their supreme sacrifice may have in the ultimate result of that titanic struggle in the face of such superior enemy forces. I have attempted to show that our Alamo heroes were not common, everyday bravados, but people with a great soul, full of sentiment, and fully realizing the value of their patriotism…”

Coppini initially wished to portray James Bowie (in his own words):

“…I am sorry that I could not have portrayed him lying on his cot at the last hours of his life when he fought as a well man and made the taking of his then feeble sick body pay dear with the taking of the lives of more than one enemy. However, it was only in that cot that he became a great hero. But he stands before you at the rime he was a well and happy respected man in the San Antonio community, having married the daughter of the Mexican governor, Verimendi…”

With James Bowie of Georgia, Coppini also sculpted James B. Bonham of North Carolina, as it was he who brought the 32 men from Gonzales to join in certain death in 1836 at the mission-fort. He further states that (in his own words):

“…the men in the back also were placed there as a sort of just glorification of all those who took part, and you could study for yourself what I intended to express before the coming generations…”

Here he again alludes to his belief and hope that future generations, children and adults; would flock to the monument on March 6th so that (in his own words):

“…so we may be able to impress their young minds of the reward that they may expect for any sacrifice they may be called to make when grown up for the maintenance of our liberty and independence…”

As depicted in the below clay model…

Finally, there stands (in his own words)

“…the allegorical figure of Texas, the State of the Union, not the Texas of 1836, purposely facing north, as a token of gratitude to the federal government which furnished all the money ($100,000) for the project. I endeavored to make it a figure of a majestic matron, strong in body as in character, expressing determination, power, courage, dignity: capable of charity and justice, or restraint and super-intellectuality: beautiful enough to be admired and loved by all: holding the emblems of state and federal patriotism: adorned by samples of the fruits of her land of the grand Union of which she is so proud of being now a part…”

Coppini goes on to state at the end of the Radio Talk show “…I put all that was in me in this group, hoping that all who will look at it will feel as if the Spirit of Sacrifice shall continue to climb before us into eternity…”

In the above photo, just to the right of the base one can see the ruins of the old Alamo. Here on March 6th, 1836 the heroes of the Alamo fell, defending Texas independence.

Pompeo Coppini began to build the supporting armature in his San Antonio studio on December 21st, 1937. By mid-March of 1938 he had finished the “Spirit of Sacrifice” panel. These panels were sculpted in clay and shipped east by rail to be carved in White Georgia Marble. In March 1939, ground was broken for the memorial and an official dedication was to follow in November 11th, 1940, Armistice Day.

Inscription on Alamo Cenotaph:

“…IN MEMORY OF THE HEROES WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES AT THE ALAMO, MARCH 6, 1836, IN DEFENCE OF TEXAS. THEY CHOSE NEVER TO SURRENDER NOR RETREAT. THESE BRAVE HEARTS, WITH FLAGS STILL PROUDLY WAVING, PERISHED IN THE FLAMES OF IMMORTALITY THAT THEIR HIGH SACRIFICE MIGHT LEAD TO THE FOUNDING OF THIS TEXAS…”

Pompeo Coppini’s commentaries on the subject of Art are revealed in an excerpt from a typed address given to the Women’s Club on November 29th, 1939.

In this text the reader may find insight to the great artists underlying passions and his love for the art form:

Art: True art does not mean the smearing of canvases with accidental combinations of colors. Art, true art, does not mean the crude carving of wood, stone or the shaping of any pliable material in any crude forms that are not similar to the forms given to us by the great God. Art is not and never was intended to be a free for all scramble of feeble minded or criminal brains. Art has never been a plaything or a hobby for lazy people to adopt and brazenly call it at its lowest level a fine Art… Art is the highest of all professions, which should be cultivated gradually by serious, untiring, long, profound studies; it should be taught as the only exponent to enduring history, and like Music, Poetry and Architecture, Sculpture and Painting, it should accept the grave responsibility to reflect to the present as well as to posterity the highest grade of refinement, spirituality, idealism, wisdom, and philosophy, besides the perfect images of our education and customs, of our Country’s greatness and glory and not of the lowest degenerated tastes of a few who may have been mislead by the tolerant generosity of the many who look upon them as innocent freaks, too lay to get a thorough education to too bold to think that it is in their right to ruin the future of others…”

With these words echoing in our ears, the reader now has a remarkable opportunity to own, while helping to preserve this most talented sculptor’s work, and who became a “Texan by choice…if not by birth”.

The Coppini Academy of Fine Arts assisted by the City Arts Council has made arrangement to cast in bronze nineteen plaster markettes, in order to preserve them for all future Texans. The purchase of these bronze castings, are tax deductible as a contribution to the art education, while serving as preservation of historical San Antonio Art.

Please join us in this unique tribute to a great Texan (by choice), a great sculpture and a man whose vision and tireless efforts to the Art community stand for all to see and admire.

Other works by Pompeo Coppini include:

(List works below…)

Corpus Christi Confederate Fountain in Corpus Christi (1914)

Bust of President Porfirio Diaz, Mexico City

Pioneer Monument, Gonzalez

Judge William Seat Fly, San Antonio Scottish Rite Cathedral

Albert Steves Sr., President of Witte Museum

'Victims of the Galveston Flood' (1903), University of Texas

'Enlightening of the Press,' entrance of the San Antonio Express-News

Gen. Sam Houston monument, erected over his grave in Huntsville (1910)

R.E.B. Baylor statue (1938), Waco

Lawrence Sullivan Ross Statue, Texas A&M

San Antonio Mayor Gus Jones, Commerce Street bridge

George Washington Monument, Mexico City (1911)

George Washington, Portland, Ore.

John H. Reagan, Littlefield War Memorial Fountain, University of Texas (1924)

Jefferson Davis, Littlefield War Memorial

Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, Littlefield Memorial (1921)

Woodrow Wilson, Littlefield War Memorial

Head of Jefferson Davis, Confederate Monument, Texas Capitol (1901)

Gen. Robert E. Lee, Littlefield Memorial

Bust of Dr. Ferdinand Herff Sr., San Antonio Public Library

Scottish Rite Cathedral Doors, San Antonio (1926)

'The Spirit of Sacrifice' Alamo Heroes Cenotaph, San Antonio (1940)

Stephen F. Austin, Hall of State, Fair Park in Dallas

Gen. Sam Houston, Hall of State

Thomas Rusk, Hall of State

Col. William B. Travis, Hall of State

Col. J.W. Fannin, Hall of State

Col. Mirabeau B. Lamar, Hall of State

Texas Centennial Half Dollar (1934)

Col. George W. Brackenridge Memorial, Brackenridge Park, San Antonio

Joanna Troutman, Designer of Texas Flag, State Cemetery, Austin

Stephen F. Austin, State Cemetery

'The King Humbert Tablet,' Royal Museum, Monza, Italy

Confederate Soldiers monument on Texas Capitol Grounds

Hood's Texas Brigade, bronze figure on monument on Texas Capitol Grounds

Terry's Texas Rangers monument on Texas Capitol Grounds