Career
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux irst learned his trade in Paris; his teacher, Jacques Francois Blondel, was a champion of Neo-Classicism.
His first job, in local government, took Ledoux out of the capital.
In the provinces of Burgundy and Champagne his responsibilities covered the construction of bridges, schools and transport routes, as welt as farming matters and farmers' living conditions. At the same time, the young architect made the acquaintance of high administrative officials, from whose ranks many of his later commissions came.
With the outbreak of the French Revolution, Ledoux' public and private commissions dried up, in 1793, the former royal architect even spent a short time in prison. During his last years, he devoted himself to his writings on architectural theory, the first (and only) volume appearing two years before his death.