he made two visits to the new american republic, in 1790–2, in hopes of being commissioned to erect an extremely elaborate monument to the new republic and george washington that he was convinced congress had voted, and again in 1794–5, when he was disappointed in raising the funds for his venture by private subscription. of this unrealizable project for a bombastic marble allegory james madison drily remarked that the sculptor "was an enthusiastic worshipper of liberty and fame, and his whole soul was bent on securing the latter by rearing a monument to the former". duplicate letters from ceracchi to washington and george clinton describe plans for a national monument to washington to be built in the newly planned capital city.