Classical Influences in Thomas Jefferson's Architecture

Thomas Jefferson was the architect for his house, and his fascination with classical architecture (which developed from both personal study and the time he spent in France as an ambassador for the budding United States of America) is blatantly obvious to even the unpracticed or inexperienced eye. First and foremost are the columns supporting a Greek-style pediment at the front of the house. These doric columns also illustrate the rule of the golden mean (columns to pediment, and columns plus pediment to the building's height as a whole). The next obvious classical element of the building is the large, cylindrical dome in the center of the building, which was most likely inspired by the Pantheon, the famous, domed building in Rome, Italy. Another

aspect of Monticello that displays classical influence are the arches on the sides of the building, which are a little difficult to see here, but are most definitely inspired by classical Roman architecture. The tea room inside of Monticello features classical-style busts of various revolutionary figures, but there are few other instances of extravagance to be found in the building. In class today, we discussed why architecture (painting, sculpture, etc) in post-revolutionary America returned to the classical style, rather than continuing the Baroque. The answer made sense; the classical style arose from ancient republics that were founded upon some variant of the democratic republic that the founding fathers of America were trying to create, while Baroque was meant to show off the power and riches of leaders, and had originated in Europe, where monarchies ruled (often tyrannically) over the majority of the population. I do not mean to say that Monticello is devoid of decoration or adornment - as far as 18th century America goes, it was quite lavish - but Thomas Jefferson definitely strove to avoid the frivolous embellishment that emulated the current style of monarchies worldwide.