by Jon Meacham
First published 2021
Thomas Jefferson transformed his Virginia residence into an architectural marvel that reflected his wide-ranging intellect and cultural ambitions. Jon Meacham brings together six distinguished cultural figures to assess how America's third president shaped Monticello between 1743 and 1826. The contributors examine Jefferson's architectural adaptations of Palladian design, his ambitious landscape projects, and his experimental approach to gardening. They explore his collection of European and American art, his extensive library that would become the foundation for the nation's premier collection, and his devotion to French culinary traditions and wine. Each writer grapples with the central contradiction of Jefferson's world: how enslaved labor enabled his intellectual pursuits and refined lifestyle. Miguel Flores-Vianna's photography captures both the beauty of Jefferson's innovations and the reality of plantation life. The book reveals how Monticello served as Jefferson's laboratory for ideas about art, science, and culture that would influence the developing nation.
Genres: 19th-century, art-history, architecture, american-history
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: cultural-heritage, historical-figure
Setting: Monticello, Virginia
Period: 1743-1826
208 pages · Hardcover · Rizzoli Electa
Content warnings: slavery