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Hubert Robert

Antique Ruins with Figures, ca. 1765-1778

Description

Maker

Title

Antique Ruins with Figures

Year

ca. 1765-1778

Medium

Pen and ink, brush and wash, watercolor, and white heightening over black chalk on paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

56.5 x 71.9 cm (22 1/4 x 28 5/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Watermark

Type

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

38.152

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Pilgrims of Beauty

February 3 - July 8, 2012

This drawing is typical of Hubert Robert’s classical fantasies, which combine elements from various Roman buildings and ruins. In this scene, fragments of columns and relief sculpture in the foreground suggest a distinctly Italian setting. Likewise, the pyramid, despite the Egyptian statues at its door, resembles in its modest scale the Pyramid of Caius Cestius in Rome, a tribute not to a pharaoh, but to an ancient Roman military commander. The loose classical robes worn by the figures leave the time period unclear. Robert created many large-scale drawings like this, based on studies made in Italy between 1754 and 1765. His works inspired later artists to use Italian architecture and landscape as inspiration for expressing their own moods and fantasies.

The Theatre That Was Rome

April 9 - July 11, 2004

Hubert Robert was a resident of the French Academy in Rome from 1754 to 1765. Young French artists who were awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome would study and live in the Academy’s building at the expense of the French government. Plaster copies of ancient statues, not only from Rome, but from all of Italy, were available on the premises as a convenient means for students to train in drawing. Robert’s fantasy of an enormous pyramid surrounded by Greek and Roman ruins was likely inspired by Piranesi’s imaginative architectural etchings with their dramatic scale and tonal effects.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Antique Ruins with Figures with the accession number of 38.152. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.