University uncovers Columbus murals

The Main Building artwork will be unveiled Jan. 30 to Feb. 3 for instructional purposes

By ANGELA MATHEW manager of Talent and inclusion

This past week from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, the c olumbus murals on the second floor of the u niversity’s m ain b uilding were uncovered for instructional purposes. The 12 paintings depict c olumbus’ arrival in the “ n ew world,” his interactions with i ndigenous people in the c aribbean and images of s panish royals like Queen i sabella. They were covered with tapestries in 2020 post an announcement by Fr. Jenkins in Jan. 2019. The first calls for the removal of the murals occurred in the 1970s, when the first few i ndigenous students enrolled at n otre d ame and spoke about the mural’s racist and stereotypical depiction of i ndigenous people. The protests were ignited again in the 1990s near the 500th anniversary of c olumbus’ arrival in n orth a merica. m ost recently, 300 n otre d ame students and faculty signed a petition in 2017 requesting the murals to be covered.

The c olumbus murals were painted by i talian artist l uigi g regori between 1881 and 1884. n otre d ame’s founder, r ev. e dward s orin, brought vatican artist g regori to