Classical Taste in the Architectural World of Thomas Jefferson

Alley Marie Jordan (Independent Scholar, UK)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
10 July 2025

History of art: ancient & classical art; History of architecture; History of the Americas; Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900

Series: Bloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception

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.

By: Alley Marie Jordan (Independent Scholar UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781350428508
ISBN 10: 1350428507
Series: Bloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 10 July 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction: Utile Dulci: Exploring the Philosophical Origins of the Villa Chapter 1: ‘A Sublime Luxury’: An Introduction to Eighteenth-Century Classical Taste, Aesthetics and Architecture Chapter 2: Thomas Jefferson the Epicurean: Exploring Jefferson’s Classical Philosophy Chapter 3: The Genius Loci at Thomas Jefferson’s Classical Villas: Monticello and Poplar Forest Chapter 4: Enslavement at the Villa: Jefferson’s Ideals vs. the Realities of Labour Chapter 5: ‘The Land of Dreams’: Thomas Jefferson’s Classical University Chapter 6: Classical Curiosities, a Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Alley Marie Jordan is an independent scholar, UK.