Latrobe, Benjamin Henry( 1764 – 1820 )
US Capitol under construction, seventh set, Maryland Historical Society,
1960. 108. 1. 9. 12 , August 1806Benjamin Henry Latrobe introduced the United States to a neoclassical language for monumental
building. Born in 1764 , in Yorkshire, England, he received a classical education. He attended the
University of Leipzig and subsequently traveled throughout the continent, especially in Italy and
France. Upon his return to England, he continued his education with the engineer John Smeaton and,
later, in an architectural apprenticeship with Samuel Pepys Cockerell. With family connections in the
United States, he initially moved to Virginia. Latrobe’s first projects in the United States included the
Bank of Philadelphia, a Greek revival structure; Sedgeley, a gothic revival house built in 1799 ; and
engineering projects such as the Philadelphia Waterworks pumping station with its strong reference to
Ledoux.
Latrobe relocated his practice to Philadelphia and other projects ensued such as the United States
Customs House in 1807 – 1809 and Baltimore Cathedral from 1804 to 1808. As surveyor of public
buildings, his most prominent and influential building came with the opportunity to design the
Capitol building in Washington, DC. He designed a suitably imposing Pantheon-domed structure
with alternating pilasters and windows, a rusticated lower level, and a Roman/Greek temple entrance
(Norton, 1977 ). Sustaining a dialogue with Thomas Jefferson, he also contemplated appropriate archi-
tecture for America’s emerging political system. He was prepared, with his knowledge of historical
revival in Greek, Roman, and gothic styles, at a time when the United States needed public and polit-
ical identity and was searching for symbols in the form of monuments.
Latrobe was deemed a skilled draughtsman, clearly able to explain his ideas visually (Van Vynckt,
1993 ). He constantly carried a sketchbook to record his travels, often rendering scenes in watercolor.
This image from a sketchbook (Figure 3. 4 ) may have been a travel companion, but it displays the
Capitol building under construction. Delineated with a light hand, it appears brief and unfinished.
Interestingly, the sketch remains less finished where the building appears less complete. Details of the
completed section have been rendered darker and with more precision. Sketchy stacks of building
materials, wagons, and temporary tents appear in front of the structure. The sketch contains mostly
single lines and describes little context, barring a few brief trees and shrubs in the foreground.
With Latrobe’s habit of carrying a sketchbook, the question arises of why architects draw when
traveling. They may feel a need to capture a scene as a memory device, or perhaps they wish to ana-
lyze an element that is foreign to their experience. Curiously, Latrobe was sketching his own build-
ing during construction. One can speculate that he viewed the sketch as an architect’s analysis,
contemplating how the project was progressing. He may have used the sketch as part of a job survey
or as a way to oversee the project’s construction. Possibly divided between his roles as construction
supervisor and detached observer, he may have absent-mindedly sketched during a free moment.
This project, being unarguably his most identifying and most time consuming work, was likely a
source of great pride. Consequently, the sketch may have been produced to record its emerging
form. It also may represent his habitual technique of observation; a situation where Latrobe was
unable to understand the building without drawing.
Since Latrobe was spending most of his time at his practice in Philadelphia, his intent may have
been to carry the progress home for his own recollection or to inform someone else – the invention
of the photograph was still several years in the future.H5719-Ch03.qxd 7/18/05 10:17 AM Page 81