Roman Influences on the Architecture of Thomas Jefferson
...ble, a view that was very apparently shared by Jefferson and is shown in all of his architectural masterpieces. The concept of Ad Quadratum was very important in Vitruvian architecture. In Ad Quadratum architecture, all measurements of a building are based on a square and its diagonal. This is also used for decorative purposes by putting one square inside of another at a ninety degree angle. Famous examples of Ad Quadratum would be found in the buildings at Pompeii and Herculaneum. (Mckay) Other themes of Vitruvius・ architecture are the sacred cut and the Roman rectangle also known as the root two rectangle. The sacred cut also involves the use of a square, it is made by ：drawing a square and, with a compass open to an amount equal to half a diagonal of the square, swing an arc with center at a corner of the square, passing through the center of the square and cutting two sides of the square. Repeat for the other three corners of the square. Through the eight points of intersection of the arcs and the sides of the square, draw four verticals and four horizontals.； (Carter) The sacred cut is the center square that the four verticals and horizontals form. This can be projected either inward, outward or both. They call it sacred because it contains both a square and a circle which was symbolic of uniting man with the divine. The Roman rectangle also combines the geometry of a square with a circle. Vitruvius took a circle with the same diameter as one of the sides of a square and added length using the width of semicircles, turning the square into a rectangle, which could be easily divided into symmetrical parts just like a square. (Mckay) This lead to Vitruvius・ extensive proportional studies of the human body in relationship to architecture. He thought it was the perfect tool to create ideal proportional relationships between the body, building, and site. He states that the thickness and height of a column should be related to the size of a human body which expresses the strength and grace of the column as well as the body. (Lefavre p.42) This is also the source for the ：Vitruvian Man； which is a man drawn inside a series of circles and squares, which was made very popular in the Middle Ages in a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. These ideas played a major role in all the buildings of president Thomas Jefferson, who detested the Georgian architecture which he associated with colonial rule. The founding father lived from 1743 to 1826 in Virginia, and was a philosopher, educator, naturalist, politician, scientist, architect, inventor, pioneer in scientific farming, musician, and writer, and he was the foremost spokesman for democracy of his day. Among his greatest feats were drafting the Declaration of Independence; serving as the third President of the United States, at which he was the first president to lead a political party and thereby control congress as well; founder of the University of Virginia; and head Architect of his Monticello, the Virginia State Capitol Building, and all the building of the University of Virginia. (Jefferson) He had his epitaph read, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, & the Father of the University of Virginia; which shows that he considered architecture, at least of the University, more important that his presidency. On this topic Jefferson states, ：architecture is among the most important arts and it is desirable to introduce taste into an art which shows so much, painting and sculpture are too expensive for the state of wealth among us. It would be useless, therefore, and preposterous, for us to make ourselves connoisseurs in those arts. They are worth seeing, but not studying." (Nichols quoting Jefferson) Monticello was his first major architectural project. It was his plantation house and instead of placing it on the bank of a river, which was common practice at the time, he put it on top of a the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna Gap, just outside of Charlottesville. (Definition) This building was very Romanesque, even the name was Italian. It was extremely symmetrical with two wings extending from the main central structure, which was influenced by Vitruvius・ emphasis of proportion. It was one story with a pediment and Roman Doric columns in the front. He kept remodeling the house between the years of 1796 and 1808, especially after his trip to Paris. (Thomas) He went to France when he was appointed American diplomat representative to the French court, where he had saw many intriguing types of architecture. Specifically the Hotel de Salm and the Maison Carree, which was an ancient Roman temple in southern France. These buildings greatly impressed him to the point that when he returned to America he remodeled Monticello after them by giving it a low Roman dome. An image of Monticello is featured on the back of the United States 5 cent coin of the and on the version of the back side of the two dollar bill that was printed from 1928 to 1966. Monticello is the only home in the United States of America that has been designated a World Heritage site. (Definition) After state leaders heard of Monticello, they asked him to design the new State Capitol Building of Virginia in 1985 which was now in Richmond overlooking the James River. Originally he wanted to design three adjoining buildings one for each of the three branches of United States government, but there was only room in the budget for one. For this building as well, he used to Maison Caree as a model not only for its simplicity but also to symbolize the pure architecture and strong government of the Roman Republic. Jefferson called this an example of cubic architecture, as opposed to the Pantheon which was spherical architecture, most likely because the building itself is shaped like a cube. It has modern Ionic capitals and six unfluted columns in the front. It is called modern because it does not have the corner problem like that of the ancient buildings. He avoided this problem by putting the scrolls on the diagonal with four identical faces in between. (refer to picture on page 8) (Sullivan) The main posts have fasces, which is a bundle of rods tied around the shaft of an axe, which had been used by the ancient Romans to symbolize unity and civic authority. (Thomas) It was completed in 1788 (American) and was the first building of its era to be based so specifically on an ancient building. His next major architectural project , which was probably his most impressive, was the University of Virginia, which he not only designed but founded as well. It was completed in 1817 and like all of his buildings was greatly influenced by Vitruvius・ Roman style of architecture. The university has ten instructional areas called pavilions, each modeled after a different Roman temple with a different architectural order. They were placed in two rows, five on each side, that were facing each other. Also, each of the pavilions had its own walled garden which were separated by Jefferson・s unique serpentine walls. (University) His intention was to educate University of Virginia students on Roman architecture without them even realizing it (by having them live and 7 study in such great classical buildings every day). The dormitories were between the pavilions and he put a large d...