Four of the Washington Monuments in the U.S.

Baltimore, Maryland

This monument was designed in 1815 by American architect Robert Mills, who would later go on to design Washington, D.C.’s monument. Construction began diat same year and was completed by 1829. The monument, an extremely large landmark column, stands 178 feet and 8inches high with 227 steps inside that lead to the structure’s balcony. Climb to the top and you’ll get an impressive view of Charm City.

New York, New York

A monument to George Washington can be found in New York City’s Union Square Park.That sculpture, which shows a seated Washington with his right arm outraised, is the oldest sculpture in the collection of New York City parks. Moneyed citizens of New York started trying to get a sculpture to the first president built in 1851, commissioning (委托) sculptor Henry Kirke Brown, who also did a sculpture of Abraham Lincoln for Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The statue was set up in the park in 1856.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s Washington Monument, which shows Washington on a horse at the top of a sculpted fountain, was completed in 1897. The monument reflects how local people wanted Washington’s legacy to be understood at the time: On the top level sits Washington riding a horse,while the next level includes figures during his time, including a Native American man.The bottom level shows plants and animals from the country that Washington helped create.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This monument, built in 1885, stands near Marquette University. It features a standing Washington, aged 43, dressed as a Continental Army officer holding a sword. Like Philadelphia’s monument, the figures below Washington are symbolic. In this case, a woman and a child look up at him, symbolizing “history or education”.

A new study involving the Chinese mountain cat of the Tibetan Plateau has determined that this type of wildcat did not give rise to a separate lineage (血统) of domesticated cats in Asia, as some researchers had supposed, reports David Grimm for Science. The finding supports the conclusions of previous research that suggested all modern domesticated cats originated from the African wildcat, a subspecies of wildcat that appears to have first been domesticated in the Middle East around 6,400 years ago.

The new study, published last week in the journal Science Advances, collected and sequenced the genetic (基因的) material of 27 Chinese mountain cats, 239 Chinese domestic cats and four Asiatic wildcats. The Chinese mountain cat is so rare and hard to find that the researcher’s samples all had to come from museum specimens (样本), roadkill and zoo animals, reports Jaime Chambers for Science News.

The curiosity as to whether the Chinese mountain cat might have contributed genes to at least some populations of modern domestic cats comes partly from the deep 5,300-year history between humans and cats in China and partly because the Chinese mountain cat had never been included in past comparative genetic studies, according to Science News.

The genetic results suggest that the Chinese mountain cat is a subspecies of wildcat rather than its own separate species. This could have a negative impact on the conservation of the Chinese mountain cat, which is listed as “vulnerable (易危)” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is estimated to have a global population of fewer than 10,000 individuals. Per the IUCN, the cat’s population is in decline, largely due to habitat loss, poisoning and illegal hunting for its coat.

While there remains a lot of argument over how exactly to classify the Chinese mountain cat, Jim Sanderson, a wildlife ecologist with the conservation organization Re: wild, has argued for the Chinese mountain cat to be declared its own species. “The belief is that if it’s not a separate species, nobody cares. We ‘re living in an age of extinction,” Sanderson tells Science. “The Chinese mountain cat deserves every bit as much attention as the panda.”

Ask an art historian about 15th-century Italian art and they’ll probably bring up Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera, Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper or the early career works of Michelangelo. Meanwhile, assessments of the Florentine sculptor Donatello often pale in comparison with praise of his superstar contemporaries. Donatello deserves better, argues an ambitious new exhibition. On view through July 31 at two museums in Florence, Italy, “Donatello: The Renaissance” tries to place the sculptor at the center of the era, writes reporter Elisabetta Povoledo for The NewYork Times.

“This is an extremely unusual exhibit, since Donatello is a father of the Renaissance,” Donatello scholar Francesco Caglioti tells The Times. Arturo Galansino, director of the Palazzo Strozzi, takes the argument one step further, telling The Wall Street Journal’s J. S. Marcus that the exhibition identifies Donatello as “the inventor of the Renaissance.”

Donatello’s masterpieces we repaired with works by Filippo Brunelleschi, Giovanni Bellini, Michelangelo and Raphael to showcase his significant impact on generations of Italian artists. “Some exhibitions are once in a lifetime, but this show is the first time in history,” said Galansino earlier this month.

While some people think of Michelangelo’s marble (大理石) David (1501―1504) as an incomparable work, Donatello actually sculpted one of the statue’s key inspirations: a bronze (青铜) David. Created between 1435 and 1450, likely for the Medici family, the sculpture was conceived (构思) independently of any architectural surroundings. Scholars, therefore, consider Donatello’s David the first of such a style in Renaissance history.

Besides, Donatello’s Madonna influenced similar works by Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Just as Donatello has been relatively overlooked in favor of his contemporaries, Gentileschi and a handful of other Renaissance women artists are just starting to get their due—a trend evidenced by a recent exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

“Donatello: The Renaissanc” follows the artist’s life and work, moving through his early years in his native city and a long-term residency in Padua. By the end of his life, Donatello’s work was primarily financed by the powerful Medici family.