1770s, opening for Ledoux with K W 'llgning of H the contract for the Hotel de Montmorency, "'l,ir ked the

peak of his early success. The patronage of * 'tr ll(du Barry began at , the start of the decade, ensuring Itll' vuccess of the architect at court. His most famous .",III'CS in Paris were also designed in the 1770s, as well as dlt" saltworks at Arc and Senans and the theatre of .... '.II1<;on. And the promise of work at Kassel and at Aix "11C'lIed up for the architect in the middle of the decade. lhc most celebrated of all the smaller houses of Ledoux w .... t he hotel he constructed for MIle Guimard, Premiere U.III,>cuse of the Opera (225), the house that became famous . I he 'Temple de Terpsichore' ' (226, 227). The site lay a lIt'lt' beyond the Hotel de Montmorency, on the same side I .fI he rue de la Chaussee-d Antin, and just beyond the 1"'('flUe that led to a house later constructed by Necker. n u ' design was apparently approved in 1770 and the hO llse completed in the following year, but little is known I;' I he negotiations that led to its construction or to the .1Il1ice of Ledoux as its architect. The site, it seems, 1IC'Ionged to one of the dancer's many lovers, Jean lklljamin de La Borde, a financier and celebrated amateur 1 1 1 1 ician, who was also a favourite of the king and his 1 , I'rernier Valet de Chambre. l-unds are also said to have been provided by another lliver of MIle Guimard, the Prince de Soubise, a member of Ihl' distinguished Rohan family, which in the person of the ( .udinal de Rohan was later to bring dishonour to Queen M.lrie Antoinette over the affair of the diamond necklace. \clll bise was a courtier cast in the same mould as his friend, Ihl' Due de Richelieu:
'III I)ECADE OF THE

III~ frenetic taste for women [whom) his age placed him beyond Ih(' .ibility to please had thrown him into a scandalous way of life. I lu - girls of the opera formed his court, and, on the other hand, Cline was a Madame de l'Hopital, his official mistress, [who was) ,-In' ply engaged in gambling. But nevertheless everyone had a ~ uid of deference for him, inspired by his birth, and his status, 4 11 (1also the position he held in the [royal) Council. N llt only Soubise, but also his son-in-law, the Prince de
C

.ucrnenee. supported the dancer, and when Guemenee's

famous bankruptcy occurred in 1786 she was forced to sell the house, which she put on the market in a characteristi cally piquant way, as a lottery. However Ledoux came to be appointed its architect, this house too, in its very different way from the nearby Hotel de Montmorency, was ingeniously keyed to the per sonality of its owner and to the nature of the hospitality offered there. It was a house of one main storey, with a small courtyard in front, hidden from the street by an entrance wing that also accommodated a small theatre on

[O J

ubsequently suffered disgrace and exilelEql Sdl~1Z~W dP qZno, Uddq 'AEM ldq:na: 'UdSOqJ SEM XnOpd'I in Flanders. radually the members AEW l! pUE 'ZlnoqW;;>Xn'I the .unily had dlElS;;> ; .reou dAEq of the different branches of ;;>P dWW JO returned to'dUUOqnEa: lE had served with .iistinction in the French France; several pUEI parmboc OS IE pEq OqM 'Sdl~!Z; dP PUEW10N d'I lUdlOltI-qddsOf and by the later eighteenth SEM army, ldPUEUU dql Aq PdU. entury they had become the most vociferous pretenders d 'lE;;>P lOU paion.usuoo SEM Zu!Punq S .xnopaq qJ!qM UO pUEI J the oldest lineage in the country, with a five-volume "X)ok on their S! SUOllEd AJU;;>lOWlUOW stq JO suontqure IE!: ;;>ql ;;>Al;;>S ancestry published in 1764. These claims APJEXa or ;;>WEJ xnopo-j JO slU;;>IEl ;;>ql MOq vere generally (and perhaps rightly) accepted, though not '1 the Crequy Souvenirs, . AUWEJ where they dql JO sroded IEJ!ZOIEdUdZ dql 10J AJU;;>lOWlU< are attributed to the cheming of Mme de Luxembourg, the wife of the Due IEp;;>ds E uOIlnloA;;>~ ;;>ql dlO~ AplOqS pcion.nsuoo SEM ZU!pnnq de '.lontmorency-Luxembourg. The Luxembourgs were amous for ;;>l;;>qM 'S~Z[ Pl9H ;;>ql W01J lEJ ron 'UO!SUEW Alnlu;;>Jthe protection they had given SEM ;;>snoq xnossog duchess more qlU;;>;;>lq ApE;;> UE to Rousseau, and he ;;>q~ 'AJU;;>lOWlU< especially as JO arbiter in social and l;;>q oi ZU!Zupq '[xnoss AUWEJ ;;>P JnG an ;;>PIl ;;>ql pUEqsnq ntellectual matters. Well known through the reputation of "!me de Luxembourg, the aurn ;;>qlJO qouarq 10!U;;>S ;;>ql OlU! p;;>plEW l;;>lqZnEp-d srq Montmorency were alsopUE 'l;;>lpOlq l;;>PP support of the ; uo ;;>WES ;;>ql moq E .. elebrated for their UE JO qlE;;>P masonic movement in qouerq S!q JO P!qJ ;;>ql ;;>WOJ;;>q pEq AU~ op AUWEJ ;;>ql JO ~rance, and the lodge of MontmorencyLuxembourg ;;>lWOJ ;;>ql lunq SEM osnoq ;;>ql ;;>lOpq AplOqS . ,& -lOWlUOW ormed AJU;;>lOWlUOW, Grand-Orient. qJ!qM 'OLL 1 A1Efll JO the nucleus of the p;;>uZ!S ;;>qs The patron of;;>ql puaqsrrqone of the less famous 'llembers ldq JO ZU! PEllUOJ Ledoux was l;;>q ql!M ZU!SS;;>Ul!M 'PlQq N of the clan, Louis-Francois-Joseph, Comte dqS AIU!Elld: who was UUEld dql U! ared dA!PE UE )[OOl de :"'ogny, known from his Belgian s,puEqsnq l;;>q JOJe SlS;;>1;;>lU1 ;;>ql U! Montmorency. 'l;;>;;>lEJ title as the Prince Little isAPU;;>lEC 'AllES: np ;;>wWhe was closely related )[;;>;;>S oi known of his life, though JO drqspuauj ;;>ql to several other branches of the family. pUE SU;;>P1EZ ,qSHZUtI, ;;>ql JO vear younger than SS;;>UP;;>PU!W-;;>IZ ;;>ql pEq One Ledoux,lS;;>H1E;;> ;;>ql aJO ;; ;;>U!;;>S-lns-du80Inos:the Seven he had pursued career in the army during lE porearo dqS Years' War, like most other ill snoutqure pUEgeneration, and he 'puEqsnq MdU ldq aristocrats of his dA!PE ;;>lOW SEM dqS became lEqllsd8Zns '~OlJ d 1 =dsoql AUE!JddSd 'dWIl dql JO Sl!OWdW dq~ a brigadier in 1762. Two years later came an alliance with the'AJUdlOWlU< -A1ZUU dP dJUPd dql JO on his8U!A!AlnS A] dql OS Luxem Dourg branch of the family PUqJ marriage to Mme deIE SEM dqS -soqouarq Au80'I pUE 81noqwdXn'I new wife, Luxembourg's widowed daughter-in-law. His ; or d8EP1EW Aq Louise-Francoise- Pa uline de Montmorency- d;;>lql S 'Zlnoq uroxn 'I PdHlE : AJUdlOWlUOW E ldAO SdWIl L uxem bourg, was three times over a Montmorency: allied by marriageMdU S!H 'MEIAJU;;>lOWlUOW dP dUHnEd -astoouarg-asm 'dJ!M to the Luxembourg and Logny branches, she op ;;>wW oi the only srq uo u1-ldlq8nEp PdMOP!M s,81noqwdx was also d8EP1EW surviving child ;;>ql the qJUElq 81Tl -urcxn-j dql ql!M dJUEHlE The dWEJ AUWEJ of JO Prince de Tingry Montmorency. UE memoirsl;;>lEI SlEdA OM~ Z ~ those of de Croy, ;;>WEJ;;>q dq pUE of the time, especially U11;;>!PEZpq E suggest that she was 'UOIlEl;;>Ud8 S!q JO SlElJOlS ldqlO her new m 'lEM ,SlEd..\. U;;>AdS more active and ambitious than lSOW = husband. She created at Boulogne-sur-Seine one of the earliest of the 'English' 'xnopd'I dql Zupnp AU ;;>ql U11;;>dlEJ E pcnsrnd pEq dq gardens uEqlld8unOA single-mindedness to seek the friendship of and had the 11 ;;>UO 'AnWEJ dqlJO S;;>qJUElq ldqlO IEldA;;>S oi Mme d pdlEpl ApS SEM ;;>qinq8noql'dJH s1q of her husband's ;;>lnn . u Barry, apparently the interests JO UMOU)[ S! career. AJU;;>lOWlUOW dJUPd dql SE dp!l UE!8ps: S!q W01J UMOU)[ SEM Certainly she took ;;>lwOJ 'qddSOf-S!O;'mEltI-S!nO'I of her new sroqur OqM 'AU~ dP an active part in the planning 'UEP ;;>ql JO hotel, witnessing with her dUO SEM xnopd'I JO uo.ned dqJ 1770, snowEJ sSdl dql JO husband the contract of January which she signed 'Montmorency Montmor;;>ql JO snapnu dql PdW 'lUdPO-PUE1D ency'. Shortly before the house was built the Comte de Lognyd8pOIbecome the chief of 81noqwdXn'I-AJUdlOWlUOW JO had dql pUE 'dJU U! his branch of the family on the death of an elder brother, and lU;;>WdAOW J!UOSEW dql JO i.roddns l!dqllOJ paierqc OSIE about the same AJUdlOWlUOW ;;>ql 'ZlnoqwdXn'I op onthe uonerndar dql ;;>l;;>M time his step-daughter married into JO senior branch of the family (Fosseux), bringing to her husband the title q8nolql UMOU)[ IP M 'Sl;;>nEW IEnp;;>IF pUE IEPOS U! ldl!qlE UE of Due SE AUEPdds;;> ;;>lOW ssoqonp pUE -neossnog or an early de Montmorency. The Fosseux house was U;;>A!Z pEq eighteenth-century mansion, not far from the Hoteldq~ A;;>ql UOIlJ;;>lOld dqllOJ snot dldM sZlnoqwdXn'I d'Uzes, where a'81noqw;;>xn'I-AJU;;>10WlW dP JnG dqlshortly before the special building was constructed JO dJ!M Revolution for the genealogicalJO 8U!Wd ;;>ql thepomqtrne dlE A;;>ql dql'ZlnoqwdXn'I;;>P dWW papers of or Montmorency family. ;;>l;;>qM 'SJ.!UJ(l-nOS Anb?lJ ;;>q: lOU q8noql'pdld;;>JJE (ApqZp Exactly how the talents of LedouxSW!EP dSdq~ 'v9L the social sdeq.rod pUE) AUE1;;>Ud8;;>J came to serve 1 U! poqsqqnd ambitions of his Montmorency patrons is not ql!M 'AllunOJ dql on AllSdJUE 11;;>ql uo )[< ;;>wnloA-dAU E clear. The land U! which Ledoux's building was constructed was owneddql ;;>WOJdq peq dZE;;>uH rsopjo dq~ srapuoiard snozojtoon lSOW by the financier Joseph-Florent Le Normand;;>qlMezieres, who had also dql U! A;;>ql Alnl qlUd;;>lq8!d l;;>lEI de Aq pUE 'AW1E qJU;;>ltI acquiredUOIlJU!~ ql1M PdAl;;>S pEq IEldAdS estate of oi pourruar pEq land at Eaubonne, near the ~ ;;>JUEltI Mrne de Luxembourg, and SdqJUElqhave been dql JO Sl;;>qW;;>W dql AUEnpl Ant dql JO it may lUdl;;>JJ!P through de Mezieres that Ledoux was chosen. Either way, dJE18s!p p;;>l;;>JJns Apu;;>nbdS( 'SldPUEltI U! dUX;;> pUE