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| Mark D. Ruffner © 2013 |
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| Mark D. Ruffner © 2013 |
I recently visited the Biltmore Estate with my friend Sandy. I'm not sure if it's still the largest house in the United States, but it is certainly the grandest. First, a quick look at the Vanderbilt lineage . . .
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Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877, left) borrowed $100 from his mother and turned it into $100-million by investing in steamships and railroads. His eldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt (1821-1885, center) inherited the bulk of the fortune and within a decade nearly doubled it, becoming the richest man in the world. William Henry's youngest child, George Washington Vanderbilt (1862-1914, right) spent his life traveling and collecting — and building Biltmore.
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George W. Vanderbilt relied on the expertise of two brilliant designers. Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895) was Biltmore's architect. Among his other accomplishments are the facade of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. Frederick Law Olmstead, Sr. (1822-1903), the father of American landscaping, designed the grounds of Biltmore. He's probably best know for designing New York's Central Park and for consulting on the preservation of Yosemite National Park. Vanderbilt, Hunt and Olmstead became a great collaborative team, all working closely together.
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Hunt was somewhat of a father figure to Vanderbilt, and together they toured Europe to look at great architecture and gain inspiration. Biltmore was primarily inspired by three 16th-century French châteaux. One can see how Chenonceau (above, top) and Chambord (above, bottom) inspired building materials, Biltmore's roof line and details like the elaborate dormer windows.
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| brittany-ferries.co.uk |
Without a doubt, the clearest inspiration for Biltmore is the Chateau de Blois, above. Below are details from Biltmore.
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| Mark D. Ruffner © 2013 |
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| Mark D. Ruffner © 2013 |
Work on Biltmore began in 1889 and the house was completed in time for a Christmas 1895 celebration. Onsite brickworks produced a staggering 32,000 bricks daily, and Indiana limestone and Italian marble were delivered by a specially installed rail line. There was an onsite woodworking factory and eventually a 300-acre nursery. George Vanderbilt was still in his 20s at the time.
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| biltmore.com |
My favorite room was George Vanderbilt's own bedroom. The bed is Portuguese, and Richard Morris Hunt designed other pieces of furniture to match it.
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| biltmore.com |
I'd like to call your attention to two details. First, notice the Italian marble bathtub with claw feet, reflected in the mirror. Second, take a look at the gold leafed wall covering, which is burlap. I thought that was strange until I realized that the nubbiness of burlap is of course a superb surface for adherence. I love it when materials usually considered as lesser are turned into luxe.
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| romanticasheville.com |
Vanderbilt's favorite room was the library, which at 10,000 books, actually housed less than half of his collection. Hunt designed the room to fit the Venetian ceiling painting by
Giovanni Pelligrini (1675-1741). Vanderbilt had seriously collected books since his childhood and in fact had a library adjoining his childhood bedroom in New York. He encouraged guests to borrow books during their visits, and made the library accessible from the second-floor bedrooms via a door behind the over mantle — you can see the door at the upper left of the above photo.
To read more about this library and George W. Vanderbilt's love of books, I direct you to an
excellent article by Samuel Todd Walker,
here.
More on Biltmore
in the next posting.
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Hi Mark, I really liked the photo of George Vanderbilt's room. Usually one sees pictures of the more grandiose spaces in the house, so I was pleasantly surprised with the elegance and restraint shown. It looks like an exceedingly comfortable room, and while it has elements of opulence, it doesn't give that living-in-a-jewel-box effect.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, I'm ready to move in.
--Road to Parnassus
Hello, Jim,
DeleteI'm ready to move in as well, so perhaps we shall have to do a time-share. Vanderbilt clearly had very good taste — he was involved in all aspects of design, including even buying furniture for the servants quarters. His bedroom was one of many areas where Vanderbilt displayed a fine collection of engavings.
Dear Mark - it is always interesting to me how many of the wealthy families during the end of the 19th century looked to France for the designs of their new homes.
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of a house we visit with a very similar tower and spiral facade (Waddesden Manor) built by Ferdinand de Rothschild around the same period. The house was based on the Château de Maintenon in the Loire, but the spiral tower was based on Château de Chambord.
When the house was built it came in for a lot of criticism as being a typically nouveau riche extravaganza, but now it is much loved.
Dear Rosemary,
DeleteI just looked up Waddesden Manor on the Internet, and can see that nouveau riche extravaganzas of the 19th century were much more tasteful than nouveau riche extravaganzas of today!
I also see the spiral tower you mention — I wonder how many times it's been copied? Of course Vanderbilt and Rothchild enclosed their stairs, but I still think the openess of the Chambord original makes for a lighter, more elegant effect.
Oh my, Mark. What a glorious place. That library!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the next Vanderbilt installment.
Dear Yvette,
DeleteI love going to places like this and examining the details — I find that they inspire my own humble house projects! I hope you got a chance to go to the library link that I supplied — I think you particularly would find it interesting . . .
Lovely. Thank you for showing some closeup details of the house. Those are great to see. I'll be eager to see more the grounds. As you probably know, Olmsted played a major role in the green spaces of Boston.
ReplyDeleteBut first, I need to try gold leafing some burlap.
Hi, Steve,
DeleteYes, I could see some gold-leafed burlap somewhere in your house. Perhaps it was a detail that Vanderbilt and Morris saw somewhere in Europe. In any event, I would have loved to have watched the installation process.
I still have the Biltmore on my bucket list. I did not get the connection with Chateau de Blois until you mentioned it...of course!
ReplyDeleteThe gilded burlap is an epiphany to me! Lately, I have been drawn to walls of rough concrete decorated with fine gilding...the combination of refined and rugged appeals to me...this is yet another way to interpret this! Thanks for so much inspiration from this post!
Dear Theresa,
DeleteThe Biltmore may be on your bucket list, but if I remember correctly, you've been to its inspiration!'
I'm right with you on liking the combination of rugged and refined. The gilt burlap made a lasting impression on me, though (or more correctly, because) the final effect is completely refined.
such a fabulous house -and still in private hands, right? I visited a number of years ago and was blown away. Asheville is so charming and this is the icing on the cake!
ReplyDeleteHi, Stefan,
DeleteYes, the Vanderbilt family still owns the Biltmore, through The Biltmore Company. George Washington Vanderbilt's great-grandson, William Cecil, Jr. heads the company, and other great-grandchildren are actively involved as well.
Dear Mark, There are so many things I love about America. Fortunes are made and fortunes are spent. Craftsmen and Artisans are employed. Museums are filled with priceless objects. Good deeds are willingly done behind the scenes. And grand homes are built for everyone to admire.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder.
Dear Gina,
DeleteWhile Cornelius and William Henry Vanderbilt were pretty tough characters, George Vanderbilt comes across as a kind person with high ideals. One of his aims in building Biltmore was to make it a self-sustaining experiment. It had its own dairy and farm, and employed a whole community, with schools.