Jefferson, Palladio and the Architecture Handbook

Kendy Hall, '02
Research Paper

Title Page of Palladio's Four books of Architecture

Jefferson,
Palladio
and
Architectural
Handbooks

Outline

Jefferson, Palladio and the Architecture Handbook

My research paper will deal with Thomas Jefferson and the architecture handbooks, with special attention given to Andrea Palladio. My paper will consist of four main sections.

I. The Phenomenon of the Classical Architecture Handbook in England

II. The Architecture Handbook

III. Thomas Jefferson (Student of Architecture)

IV. Thomas Jefferson (Master Architect)

I. The Phenomenon of the Classical Architecture Handbook:

In this section, I will introduce the key individuals that influenced the neo-classical architecture movement in England. Some of these architects are:         Inigo Jones (His visits to Italy, Palladio and Sebastiano Serlio)
        John Webb
        Christopher Wren
        Colen Campbell
        Lord Burlington
        James Gibbs
        Robert Adam

Through these architects and their influence on English architect, I will define Palladianism. Architecture Handbooks will be introduce in this section because they
played a vital role in the survival of the Neo-Classical style in England, and how
the Classical tradition reached the Colonies and eventually Thomas Jefferson.

II. The Architecture Handbook:

In this section, I will focus on the architecture handbooks themselves. Now that the reader will have an understanding of the influence that handbooks had in England and their growing popularity in the Colonies, I will take the reader through a quick
outline of some specific handbooks and give a summary about how one would go about interpreting a handbook.

Generally each book begins with the simple building blocks (i.g. types of wood, stones, sand, foundations, and columns and their orders) and ends with plates of Temples from Antiquity.
In this section, I will prove that it wasn’t coincidental that Jefferson chose Palladio as his guide because most of the Architecture Handbooks were in some cases mirror images of Palladio’s Four Books of Architecture

III. Thomas Jefferson - Student of Architecture

In this section I will focus on Jefferson as a student of architect. Answering the questions of: How Jefferson came in contact architecture? Why it was important
to him? Why did he think that the architecture of his day was awful? This section will deal with Jefferson’s own answers to the way buildings should be,
and how his elevation to the top of the list of Architects was achieved.

        Jefferson as a student of architecture can be seen clearly as he travels in France.
        At this point in his life he has already gained recognition as an architect. I will
        argue here, that it is in France where Jefferson really learned how to manipulate
        form and where became a master Architect.

IV: Thomas Jefferson - Master Architect

Jefferson loved Palladio, and he has a unique and well defined understanding
of how to build and create according to the handbooks and with Palladian perfection. I will discuss some of the buildings that Jefferson designed, putting importance
on Monticello, The University of Virginia, and Poplar Forest.

V: Conclusion I will explain why Jefferson was one of the best, if not the leading Architect of his time. Most importantly though, I will argue that Jefferson can be credited as one
of the founders of the birth of the classical architecture that is now present in the United States.