JEFFERSON, Thomas
(b. 1743, Shadwell, d. 1826, Monticello)

Exterior view

completed 1796
Photo
State Capitol of Virginia, Richmond

As a founding father of the United States, Thomas Jefferson was passionate about North America's independence from Britain. He was no fan of the king of England and, by extension, no fan of the Georgian architecture that bore the kings' name.

So when the state of Virginia needed a new government building, Jefferson – a self-taught architect and former governor of that state – took his inspiration from a source very far removed, geographically and historically, from the British colonial architecture of the day. The Maison Carrée in Nimes, France provided the decisive inspiration for the federal seat of government. Jefferson studied devotedly this Roman podium temple during his stay in France. Together with the French architect Charles Louis Clérisseau he elevated this Roman temple into the ideal of a new American architecture.

The building was defined by a monumental portico in the delicate Ionic order expressed in the arrangement of pilasters which wound around the entire building. A powerful pedestal and a harmoniously composed triangular pediment provided the necessary distancing effect and urban accent.

During the Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Southern Confederacy, and the Virginia State Capitol building housed both the State assembly and the Confederate government.