"How is a taste in this beautiful art to be formed in our
countrymen, unless we avail ourselves of every occasion when
public buildings are to be erected, of presenting to them models
for their study and imitation?...You see, I am an enthusiast on
the subject of the arts. But it is an enthusiasm of which I am
not ashamed, as its object is to improve the taste of my
countrymen, to increase their reputation, to reconcile them to
the rest of the world, and procure them its praise." Among the
many groups which look to Jefferson as the model of their
purpose and embodiment of their ideals, American architects
especially can attribute the roots of their profession to the
"Sage of Monticello." Although never formally trained in
architecture, Jefferson had studied the structures of Europe and
read extensively on the great architects of Europe. Possessed by
a penchant for Palladio and a natural ability for design,
Jefferson set out to the wilderness of Piedmont Virginia to
create his architectural masterpieces in a co