Lot 9: ARCHITECTURAL PRINTS ON THE IDEAL CITY.

6 engravings, 46,5 x 30,5 (plate), 55,5 x 42 cm, laid paper with watermarks, signed in the plate "Le Doux Architecte / Gravé par N. Ranssonette" (some foxing, nice margins). - Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also to work on town planning. As a consequence of his visionary plan for the Ideal City of Chaux (in Arc-et-Senans), he became known as a utopian. This lot consists of 6 of the rare original engraved plans which the French architect designed for this utopian city: the cemetery, 4 plans for town houses and one bridge design "Pont de la Loüe". Engraved by N. Ransonnette and published in "L'Architecture considérée sous le rapport de l'art, des mœurs et de la législation". - Ref. Vidler, Anthony, "Claude-Nicolas Ledoux: Architecture and Social Reform at the End of the Ancien Régime", Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1990, pp. 56-71. - Joined: Blondel, Jacques-François - 7 plates with elevations of Le Palais de la Malgrange, near Nancy. 7 large engravings, 46 x 70 cm, laid paper, unsigned. Plates 12 to 17, depicting elevations and ground plans from "Livre d'architecture contenant les principes généraux de cet art". Paris, 1745. Engr. by P. F. Tardieu. - Prov. Collection L. Bongard (stamp on verso, not in Lugt). (13 pcs)

1804