Claude Nicholas Ledoux

By mipul Kumar Pankaj Kumar

Claude Nicholas Ledoux

(b. Dormans, France 1736; d. Paris, France 1806)

Claude Ledoux was born in Dormans, France in 1736. He was educated at a private architectural school in Paris.. Established

by J. F. Blondel, the school emphasized native Baroque tradition but exposed students to English architecture. After completing his studies, Ledoux assumed several goverment

positions as an engineer, mainly of bridge design.Ledoux' dramatic style owes much to the fact that he never

visited Rome. His concepts of Roman architecture were accordingly warped by the engravings of Piranesi from which he derived his knowledge. He did visit England, where he was

influenced by the Palladian tradition with which he was already familiar.

style

Although much of Ledoux's architecture is quite practical and functional, the "visionary" aspects of his work are better known. His designs became symbols of the ancient regime and their exaggerated use of classical elements seems to anticipate post-modern classicism.

CHATEAU OF MAUPERTUIS•Listed as his first work

Owner- Anne-Pierra de Montesquiou Fezenzac•It was like horseshoe 292.3 meters in circumferences crowned with balustrades, pierced with square and round niches, arriving at a gentle incline at the door of the vestibule.

•Reconstructed later.

•Now nothing remains of Ledoux’s.

•He gave priority to the natural setting Of the building .

•His giant Doric orders and the famous spherical house of the ‘garden agricoles’ were unforgettable elements.

HOTEL D’ HALLWYL , 1766The street façade , the doorway combines the traditional arched shape of the paris porte cochiere with an articualtion of columns and lintel.

HOTEL D’ HALLWYL , 1766Street elevation and section through rear court, engraving from Ledoux.the street façade is made more regular in the engraving .

The section shows the ionic colonnade that was to be painted on the wall facing the end of the garden.

DUC D’ UZES

CHATEAU OF BENOUVILLE, NEAR CAEN

CHATEAU OF BENOUVILLE, NEAR CAEN

The 1770s

HOTEL GUIMARD,1770

HOTEL GUIMARD ,1770

PAVILLION OF CHATEAN OF LOUVEUENNES ,1771

PAVILLION OF CHATEAN OF LOUVEUENNES ,1771

CHATEAU OF LOUVEUENNES

• 1773 EXTENTED TO A MORE CONVENTIONAL BUILDING

CHATEAU OF LOUVEUENNES

THE SALT OF ARC AND SENANSNear Besaneon

Ledoux’s famous salt factory, approved in 1773 and built in 1775-79,is semicircular in plan, with the house of the director and the salt-extracting buildings on the straight side.

Main entranceheavy baseless Tuscan columns

The interiors of the porticoThe rusticated archway contains a grottoOf natural rock.

Detail of decorationThe windows of the entrance portico are framed as urns spilling forth petrified water, and the entrance grotto has imitation springs to each side.

Salt extracting buildingThe architecture recalls French and Italian buildings of the 16th century