A venerable Boston institution has unveiled a new logo, but not everyone is embracing the change.
Boston Latin School, the elite Fenway exam school that bills itself as the country’s oldest public school, has dropped an emblem that depicts twin infants Romulus and Remus, the mythological founders of Rome, suckling from a she-wolf, school officials said in a statement.
The new image depicts a stylized version of the pediment and cupola of the school’s facade, with a sunburst effect encircling the cupola. The date of its founding, 1635, is featured prominently above a shield outline.
“This redesign effort’s objective was to create a visual identity that renews pride in Boston Latin School,” as well as its athletics program and the Boston Latin School Association, school officials said. “The new artwork, both unique to BLS and the BLSA, ties back to the school’s long-storied heritage, while affirming BLS as a contemporary, forward-thinking institution for the 21st century.”
The facade of the building is “particularly recognizable” for the school community and the rays of the sun “reaffirm Latin School as a beacon of opportunity in education,” school officials said.
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The circular seals with Romulus and Remus will continue to be used on diplomas, school officials said.
On Tuesday, the Boston blog Universal Hub noted the change in a post that generated much discussion. One anonymous commenter wrote, “I don’t think the new, bland logo helps the school or its students in any way.” Others critics on social media dismissed the new logo as “basic and pedestrian” and said the “old logo was fine.”
The North End-based International Catacomb Society said the choice to abandon the image of Rome’s mythical founders “says a lot about current Classics program at [the] school.”
Why mess with something so original and iconic? And to replace it with something so...basic and pedestrian?
— Lillian Lee Art & Design ☺️ (@hellolillianlee) September 11, 2019
Boston Latin School drops Romulus and Remus in bid to make school logo look like every other school logo https://t.co/0TULsGij7p
Dumb. The old logo was fine. Someone got way too caught up in Modernizing The Brand™.https://t.co/whqkKO0UR9
— Dan Ryan (@bruinshockeynow) September 11, 2019
How the mighty have fallen (and says a lot about current Classics program at school): Boston Latin School drops Romulus and Remus in bid to make school logo look like every other school logo https://t.co/XM6vvkfLXn
— Int'l Catacomb Society - www.catacombsociety.org (@CatacombSociety) September 11, 2019
Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeremycfox.
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