Jeffersonian architecture
Encyclopedia
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
or Neo-Palladianism embodied in American president and polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
's designs for his home (Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
), his retreat (Poplar Forest
Poplar Forest
Poplar Forest was Thomas Jefferson's plantation and plantation house in what is now Forest, Virginia, near Lynchburg. He designed it and treated it as a private retreat, working on it from 1806 until his death 20 years later. "It is the most valuable of my possessions," Jefferson once wrote a...
), his school (University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
), and his designs for the homes of friends and political allies (notably Barboursville
Barboursville (James Barbour)
Barboursville is the ruin of the estate of former U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of War, and Virginia Governor James Barbour, located in Barboursville, Virginia, on the grounds of Barboursville Vineyards. The house was designed by Barbour's friend and political ally, Thomas Jefferson...
). Over a dozen private homes bearing his personal stamp still stand today. Jefferson's style was popular in the early American period at about the same time that the more mainstream Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
was also coming into vogue (1790s-1830s) with his assistance.
Sources and inspiration
Jefferson was not formally trained in architecture or draughtsmanship. As an amateur architect and classicist, he was most heavily influenced by the Italian revivalist architect, Andrea PalladioAndrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
(1508–1580). Jeffersonian architecture is therefore perhaps best described as "Palladian" in inspiration. Jefferson was also influenced by architect James Gibbs
James Gibbs
James Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
(1682–1754), and by French Neo-classical buildings, such as the Hôtel de Salm in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, when he served as Ambassador to France
United States Ambassador to France
This article is about the United States Ambassador to France. There has been a United States Ambassador to France since the American Revolution. The United States sent its first envoys to France in 1776, towards the end of the four-centuries-old Bourbon dynasty...
. While the Jeffersonian style incorporates Palladian proportions and themes, it is at the same time unique to Jefferson's own personal sensibility and the materials available to him in early republican Virginia.
Characteristics
One characteristic which typifies Jefferson's architecture is the use of the octagon and octagonal forms in his designs. Palladio never used octagons, but Jefferson employed them as a design motif—halving them, elongating them, and employing them in whole as with the dome of Monticello, or the entire house at Poplar Forest.Jeffersonian architectural attributes
- Palladian design (e.g., central core, symmetrical wings)
- PorticoPorticoA portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
-and-pedimentPedimentA pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
primary entries - Classical orders and moldingsMolding (decorative)Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
(especially TuscanTuscan orderAmong canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
) - Piano nobilePiano nobileThe piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...
(main floor elevated above ground level) - Red brick construction
- White painted columns and trim
- Octagons and octagonal forms
- Chinese railings
- "Suppressed" (hidden) stairs, instead of grand stairways
Monticello
Located just outside CharlottesvilleCharlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
, Jefferson’s Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
home and estate is situated on the summit of an 850 feet (259.1 m)-high peak in the Southwest Mountains
Southwest Mountains
The Southwest Mountains of Virginia are a mountain range centered around Charlottesville, parallel to and geologically associated with the Blue Ridge Mountains, which lie about 30 miles to the west...
. Its name comes from the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
for "little mountain." Jefferson began work on his original “Monticello” in 1768. He left his home in 1784 to serve as Minister of the United States to France. During his tenure in Europe, he had an opportunity to see some of the classical buildings with which he had become acquainted from his reading, as well as to discover the "modern" trends in French architecture that were then fashionable in Paris. His decision to remodel his own home may date from this period. In 1794, following his service as the first U.S. Secretary of State (1790–93), Jefferson began rebuilding his manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
based on the ideas he had acquired in Europe. The remodeling continued throughout most of his presidency (1801–09).
Jefferson added a center hallway and a parallel set of rooms to the structure, more than doubling its area. He removed the second full-height story from the original house and replaced it with a mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
bedroom floor. The most dramatic element of the new design was an octagonal dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
, which he placed above the West front of the building in place of a second-story portico. The room inside the dome was described by a visitor as "a noble and beautiful apartment," but it was rarely used—perhaps because it was hot in summer and cold in winter, or because it could only be reached by climbing a steep and very narrow flight of stairs. The dome room has now been restored to its appearance during Jefferson's lifetime, with "Mars yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
" walls and a painted green floor.
Monticello, along with the nearby University of Virginia, was designated a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 1987.
In the United States
In 1803, President Jefferson appointed Benjamin Henry Latrobe as surveyor of public buildings in the United States, thus introducing Greek Revival architectureGreek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
to the country for the first time. Latrobe went on to design a number of important public buildings in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Philadelphia, including work on the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
and the Bank of Pennsylvania
Bank of Pennsylvania
The Bank of Pennsylvania was established on July 17, 1780, by Philadelphia merchants to provide funds for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
.
Even after Jefferson's style went out of vogue for other public buildings, it continued to have an influence on many Protestant church designs on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
through the mid-20th century. The style is still employed on some southern college campuses, particularly in Virginia, the Peabody College
Peabody College
Peabody College of Education and Human Development was founded in 1875 when the University of Nashville, located in Nashville, Tennessee, split into two separate educational institutions...
campus of Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, and has enjoyed a certain re-emergence among some newer 21st century evangelical church complexes.
The University of Mary Washington
University of Mary Washington
The University of Mary Washington is a public, coeducational liberal arts college located in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. Founded in 1908 by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a normal school, during much of the twentieth century it was part of the University of Virginia, until...
, previously the University of Virginia's college for women, is another primary example of Jefferson's architecture.
Elsewhere
An example of Jeffersonian architecture outside the United States can be found in one of China's top universities, Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. The University's "Grand Auditorium" was designed with elements of the Jeffersonian architectural style in the early 20th century.
Jeffersonian buildings
- "First Monticello" (1768–1784; demolished)
- MonticelloMonticelloMonticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
(1794–1805) - Poplar ForestPoplar ForestPoplar Forest was Thomas Jefferson's plantation and plantation house in what is now Forest, Virginia, near Lynchburg. He designed it and treated it as a private retreat, working on it from 1806 until his death 20 years later. "It is the most valuable of my possessions," Jefferson once wrote a...
(1806–1826) - The LawnThe LawnThe Lawn is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The design shows Jefferson's mastery of Palladian architecture...
/"Academical Village" (1817), University of VirginiaUniversity of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... - Farmington Country ClubFarmington Country ClubFarmington Country Club is a country club in Charlottesville, Virginia, near the University of Virginia. The octagonal east wing of the clubhouse, constructed in 1802 as an addition to the pre-1780 structure, was designed by Thomas Jefferson....
Main Portico, "Jefferson Room" - BarboursvilleBarboursville (James Barbour)Barboursville is the ruin of the estate of former U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of War, and Virginia Governor James Barbour, located in Barboursville, Virginia, on the grounds of Barboursville Vineyards. The house was designed by Barbour's friend and political ally, Thomas Jefferson...
(Completed ca. 1822; ruins) - The RotundaThe Rotunda (University of Virginia)The Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...
, University of VirginiaUniversity of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
(1822–26; burnt 1895; rebuilt 1898-99) - Jail, Nelson County CourthouseNelson County CourthouseNelson County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located at Lovingston, Nelson County, Virginia within the Lovingston Historic District. The original building opened in 1810...
grounds, site is present day Sheriff's Offices.
Directly influenced by Jefferson:
- Manor house, Lower Brandon PlantationLower Brandon PlantationLower Brandon Plantation is located on the south shore of the James River in present-day Prince George County, Virginia....
(1760s; Possibly designed by Jefferson) - Virginia State House (Completed 1788; Design partially credited to Jefferson)
- Manor house, Belle Grove PlantationBelle Grove Plantation (Middletown, Virginia)Belle Grove Plantation is a late-18th-century plantation and estate in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, USA. It is situated in Frederick County, about a mile southwest of Middletown....
(1794–1797; Consultation by Jefferson) - Manor house, Bremo PlantationBremo Historic DistrictBremo, also known as Bremo Plantation or Bremo Historic District, is a plantation estate covering on the west side of Bremo Bluff in Fluvanna County, Virginia. The large mansion at Upper Bremo is believed to be based on the architectural work of Thomas Jefferson...
(1819; Consultation by Jefferson)
Indirectly influenced by Jefferson:
- Belle MontBelle Mont (Tuscumbia, Alabama)Belle Mont is a historic Jeffersonian-style plantation house near Tuscumbia in Colbert County, Alabama. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1982, due to its architectural significance.-History:...
(1828) - Various buildings, University of Mary WashingtonUniversity of Mary WashingtonThe University of Mary Washington is a public, coeducational liberal arts college located in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. Founded in 1908 by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a normal school, during much of the twentieth century it was part of the University of Virginia, until...
(Post-1908) - "Grand Auditorium", Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua UniversityTsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
, BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
(1917) - Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington, DC (1939–1943)