Thomas Jefferson: Architect Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Thomas Jefferson: Architect Book

Thomas Jefferson, Architect: The Built Legacy of Our Third President, with text by Hugh Howard and photos by Roger Straus III, shows that the third U.S. President not only shaped democracy but also made the classical style of architecture an American architecture. Today, more than any other style, the columns and rotundas of classical Greece and Rome suggest "U.S. government building." Jefferson was a Renaissance man--inventor, politician, philosopher, scientist, doctor--but the dwellings and civic temples he designed are the only tangible legacy of his most Americans actually see every day. Arguably the crown jewel of Jefferson's architectural oeuvre, his Monticello mansion in Virginia receives a worthy 33 pages, with plenty of interior and exterior photographs. The Virginia Capitol also gets a chapter, as does his other home, Poplar Forest, along with other private dwellings Jefferson designed. Also in focus are public buildings such as the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, with its Rotunda at the head of a great lawn flanked by the copious colonnades-a design familiar now in campuses nationwide. Throughout the book, Howard guides us through the halls, sitting rooms, and grounds with writing that is knowledgeable but not overly technical. Straus' photos show off the estates and edifices in peaceable, natural light, illustrating some interiors as they would have been lit in Jefferson's day (i.e., by the sun). If not for Jefferson's vision, the book implies, our nation would look quite different today. -Eric ReyesRead More

from£36.45 | RRP: £27.00
* Excludes Voucher Code Discount Also available Used from £15.01
  • Product Description

    Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was also its first great architect. The Jeffersonian Classical style has been so influential that, along with Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson, Jefferson is one of the three most recognized architects in American history. Although never formally trained as an architect, Jefferson intensively studied the architecture of Paris when he resided there as minister to France and read extensively on classical architecture, particularly Palladio's Four Books on Architecture, all of which gave him a firm footing in the classical tradition.

    Monticello, his own home, was constantly redesigned by Jefferson during his life time, and he referred to it as his essay in architecture. The University of Virginia, which he founded and conceived the architecture for, is perhaps the greatest campus of any American university and certainly one of this country's greatest public spaces anywhere. Both of these are well served by the beautiful panoramic photographs in this volume, which show them in the landscape they are situated in, an integral part of Jefferson's design. Less well known, but included here, is the balance of Jefferson's work as an architect: the Virginia State Capitol and over a dozen private homes which still stand today. Illustrated with splendid color photography by the same author-photographer team that created Rizzoli's Wright for Wright, this is the first volume to combine all the extant work of Jefferson.

  • 0847825469
  • 9780847825462
  • Howard, Roger Strauss
  • 25 June 2003
  • Rizzoli International Publications
  • Hardcover (Book)
  • 204
  • illustrated edition
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click through any of the links below and make a purchase we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Click here to learn more.

Would you like your name to appear with the review?

We will post your book review within a day or so as long as it meets our guidelines and terms and conditions. All reviews submitted become the licensed property of www.find-book.co.uk as written in our terms and conditions. None of your personal details will be passed on to any other third party.

All form fields are required.