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The Four Fundamental Forms of Man's Development of the Idea of Justice by Carl Paul Jennewein
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
Photo CaptionThe Four Fundamental Forms of Man’s Development of the Idea of Justice
The Four Fundamental Forms of Man's Development of the Idea of Justice
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
Photo CaptionThe Four Fundamental Forms of Man’s Development of the Idea of Justice

The Four Fundamental Forms of Man's Development of the Idea of Justice

Artist
Year1933
Classification sculpture
Medium painted plaster
Dimensionsfive reliefs, varying dimensions
Credits Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
  • In 1933, the sculptor Carl Paul Jennewein designed a series of reliefs for the lobby of the Constitution Avenue entrance to the U.S Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C. Jennewein planned the full sculptural program for the building, and his designs for these plaster reliefs were carried out by the sculptors Oscar Mundhenk and Robert Carlton Wakeman. Each panel depicts the application of justice at a different historical moment. In the relief, titled Jus, which means “right” or “justice” in ancient Roman law, Jennewein depicts a classical scene, in which an emperor in a toga judges a bound kneeling man. Constitution 1789 portrays the drafting of the Constitution by Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and other founding fathers. With Independence Hall pictured in the background, the men gather around a drafting table beneath the cracked Liberty Bell. The panel titled Mos, or common law, depicts an assembly of Germanic men, who administer the law based on customs formed by secular tribunals. Two smaller panels depict Fas, or canon law, in which ancient figures offer libations and gifts of fruits, grain, and wine.