Classical Taste in the Architectural World of Thomas Jefferson

Reaching beyond politics and law, this book focuses on Thomas Jefferson as an aesthetic classicist. Jefferson embraced the influence of antiquity through his adoption of classical architecture in his Virginia residences, in order to establish Rome as an ancestor to America. In a time of significant political and cultural change, he aligned himself with a Greco-Romano legacy that represented knowledge, power and art. Alley Marie Jordan studies the architectural and landscape spaces of Jefferson’s classical taste, which include the villas of Monticello and Poplar Forest, as well as the University of Virginia. An examination of these places exposes his deeply entrenched views of the importance of classics in Virginia, and reveals them as expressions of admiration of classical antiquity. Seeking to uncover an underexplored side of his character, Jordan deconstructs his identity through a classical lens and illustrates his influence on American culture, as well as his desire to reform it via the classics. By dislodging Jefferson from American politics, this study redefines his worldview and motivations for inventing an American virtue based on Horace’s utile dulci. Although his participation in acquiring classical taste was not unique for his time, he did accomplish a unique aim with classicism: the blending of the American landscape with classical culture to create a ‘new’ American virtue. This book is about Thomas Jefferson and his classical taste in architecture through the ancient philosophical lens. Jefferson curated a classical world in Virginia, both for himself and for others. This book explores how and why he did it. Jefferson was a direct participant in the European rush to adopt, adapt and possess Antiquity. Jefferson’s classicism was unique for the eighteenth century because he blended it with the American landscape and created an American classicism. In turn, his classicism had direct implications on marginalised identities, in particular black Americans. This book begins with Jefferson’s self-proclaimed Epicureanism. This chapter explores the depth of Jefferson’s classicism that fuelled his taste. The next chapter addresses Jefferson’s villas, Monticello and Poplar Forest, with their aesthetic connections to Antiquity, the Italian Renaissance and Georgian England. Monticello was designed as a classical home, not only in design, but in philosophy and ethics as well. The next chapter examines enslavement at Monticello and how Jefferson regarded black Americans under his classical philosophy. Finally, Jefferson as the Father of the University of Virginia will be explored. This chapter argues that Jefferson created the university as a seat of classical and Epicurean learning and will highlight the university’s direct connections to Antiquity. This book will paint a portrait of Jefferson seldom seen in his historiography—it will illuminate a side of Jefferson that was imaginative and idealistic. This book will illustrate the relevance of Classical Reception for American Studies and will displace Jefferson from American History and place him within Classical Reception.