Perhaps no person did more to bring the statue into being than Bartholdi. Not only did Bartholdi gain both French and American approval for the project, he led the French fundraising efforts and designed the appearance of the statue. The appearance of the Statue of Liberty is somewhat derived from Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom. The torch represents how liberty enlightens the world. The seven points or rays coming from the top of the crown represent the sun, the seven seas, the
seven continents, and (as with the torch) how liberty enlightens the world. Though much of the statue was modeled after depictions of goddesses, Bartholdi modeled the face after his mother. Now that’s a Mother’s Day gift that’s hard to top.
Bartholdi.