Jeffersonian Aesthetics and Ideals

Thomas Jefferson (bronze) at Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia

A realistic, freestanding bronze sculpture of Thomas Jefferson greets guests outside the visitor center to his own home at Monticello, Virginia. Jefferson’s achievements as primary author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States (1801-1809), may have eclipsed his aesthetic contributions to American architecture.  Jefferson was instrumental in the transfer of Classical aesthetics to his newly formed country. The Classical heritage is traced to the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome – cultures that pioneered the ideals of democracy and the establishment of a republic.

     During his studies, Jefferson read Four Books on Architecture by the Italian Renaissance designer Andrea Palladio who adapted Classical principles to sixteenth century buildings. While serving as a minister to France, Jefferson was also impressed by the ancient Greco-Roman architectural heritage at Nimes.  Plus, he was inspired by French Neoclassic architecture, such as the Parisian Hotel de Salm.

    In 1790, Jefferson’s cumulative knowledge influenced his remodeling strategy for Monticello (Italian for “little mountain"). Although the house was not completed until 1809, when he retired from the Presidency.  The entrance portico features columns that support a triangular pediment and a frieze with alternating triglyphs and metopes.  These are trademark elements of the ancient Greek Doric architectural order, but the lunette window inside the pediment was an innovation by Jefferson.  Dome construction was characteristic of ancient Roman temples like the Pantheon, but it took more than a thousand years for Andrea Palladio to be the first architect to use a dome in a private villa.  Jefferson’s dome for Monticello is octagonal with a supporting rotunda pierced by circular windows.  The entablature and balustrade disguises a second story, which provides a horizontal emphasis to the home. The horizontal line is visually counter-balanced by the elongated vertical windows of the ground-floor level.

The Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C. 1943  by John Russell Pope

Memorial Sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, by Rudolph Evans.  19’ high

     Jefferson applied Classical principles to two more major projects: the University of Virginia and the Virginia State Capitol. There is a line of continuity for more than two thousand years from the Classical past to the present. As an architect, Thomas Jefferson intended to remind the American public about this aesthetic legacy. Today, a tribute to this architectural legacy is conveyed through coinage. The façade of Monticello is minted in low relief on a five-cent coin with a portrait Jefferson on the opposite side. Also, many museums, banks, government buildings and private homes continue the Classical (or Neoclassical) heritage.  Even the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. pays respect to Classicism with a circular rotunda supporting a dome, and exterior colonnaded columns topped with Ionic capitals. Inside the memorial is a colossal standing figure of the third President and wall panels with massive stone inscriptions from the Declaration of Independence as a reminder of American ideals.

References:

Jefferson Memorial. National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.
     http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc73.htm
     (accessed August 19, 2013).

Monticello in Transition. Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.
     http://www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens/monticello-transition
     (accessed  August 19, 2013).

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History, Third edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 
     2008.

Thomas Jefferson. The White House, Washington, D.C.
     http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/thomasjefferson
     (accessed August 19, 2013).