Comparison: The French Neoclassical Style In Monticello

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Architecture is a very interesting subject. The designs shape the way we interact with different aspects of everyday life. There have been many great architects through out the years such as Andrea Polladio, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright. One architect how ever is particularly significant. Not only because of his designs, but because he was also a president; Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was a very successful architect and was able to design a numerous amount of structures in his life time. Some of his most famous buildings were The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the Farmington Country Club and Monticello. Monticello is specifically interesting in the fact that Monticello was Thomas Jeffersons home. In terms of the …show more content…

However, after he served as the American ambassador to France, Jefferson was influenced by the French neoclassicism style of architecture and is what he then preferred to do.1 We see this French neoclassical style in Monticello. The French neoclassicism was meant to serve as an emblem of political reform.2 The aspects of the neoclassical style is crucial to why this was the ideal representation of what a home should look like back then. The fact that the this style of architecture and its popularity is so heavily emphasized in this home shows that Monticello was built in this style due to its popularity. As previously stated, French neoclassical was the main style design for those who cared about …show more content…

There is a sense of power that is portrayed onto this house. For being the house of a president this sense of power that needs to be shown in the buildings design. Monticello shows the wealth through the materiality and the trees surround the landscape. The trees show wealth because during that time, the trees had to imported along with other materials which was expensive.5 Along with that, the masonry itself shows the wealth and power as well. This is because brick was an expensive material and having a home made up entirely of brick shows his wealth and power. The style and emulating entrance also represents wealth. His individualization of the home shows his authority through the placement of the home and the long paths leading up to the structure. These long paths also have the workers put on display, in a way where it brags about how many slaves the owner has which also shows the wealth and power. Thomas Jeffersons Monticello is an amazing home. This representation of a home portrays how and why this home looks the way it does. Many different aspects of what time was like back then and how that era shaped what home looks like. From the public influence of style to the materiality of the structure, it is clear to see why this home was built the way it was which we can see why this is a good representation of a

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