Touchdown Jesus

From NCAA Wiki

Touchdown Jesus is a mural on Notre Dame's Hesburgh Library. When the library opened, its most distinctive exterior feature, the "mural," had not yet been installed. The artist Millard Sheets was commissioned to create a work large enough to cover the southern face of the tower, visible from the football stadium. Its theme was to be saints and scholars throughout the ages; this was suggested by Father Hesburgh.

The $200,000 mural was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard V. Phalin of Winnetka, Illinois. It was installed during the spring of 1964, but was kept covered until the day of the library's formal dedication. That ceremony was held on May 7, 1964 and included a mass and an academic convocation.

From a technical perspective, Professor Winkler wrote about the mural saying that "Millard Sheet's painting was converted into a mosaic by the Cold Spring Granite Company. ... The mural is composed of 324 panels, of which 189 are precast panel units. The remaining 135 are solid granite and Mankato stone, used for background panels. In all, 81 different stones, in 171 finishes, and from 16 countries, were used in fabrication. ... The following kinds of stone were utilized: 46 granites and syenites; 10 gabros and labrodorites; 4 metamorphic gneisses; 12 serpentines; 4 crystalline marbles; and 5 limestones."

By strict definition it qualifies as neither mural or mosaic; the process is a unique one in which 6,700 separate pieces of granite were used to create the composition. With its large size (134 feet high and 68 feet wide) and highly visible location, it continues to attract attention, and helps to make the Library among the most familiar of the campus landmarks.