Hubert Robert

Possibly Virot sale, Paris, 28-30 May 1884, lot 148 ("as Monuments en ruine; au centre, un artiste dessinant, entoure de trois personnages; a droite, deux cavaliers");
A.L. Nicholson, London, 1927;
With Newhouse Gallery, New York, 1990;
With Simon Dickinson Ltd., London, 2000;
From whom purchased by the present collectors. 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work on canvas has an old lining. While the cracking is slightly raised, the paint layer is stable. The work is in very good condition. It shows only a few tiny retouches to some of the cracking in the sky and to some thinness in the shadowed triangular wall in the lower right and in the side of the steps to the temple in the lower left. The raised cracking would be subdued if the lining were changed, which would make a noticeable difference.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The crisp light which bathes this scene with an artist sketching among ancient ruins illustrates Hubert Robert's twin fascination with the mood of a landscape, characteristically portrayed in his diffuse and romantic light, and the continuing presence of antiquity. His interest in Roman ruins was inspired by a trip to Italy in 1754, made at the age of twenty-two in the entourage of the Comte de Stainville. That trip became an eleven-year stay in which Robert closely observed the wonders of Italy both past and present, faithfully recording his surroundings in his sketchbooks. He returned to his drawings for inspiration well after his return to France, earning him the sobriquet "Robert des ruines".  

Marianne Roland Michel has previously dated this canvas to circa 1782 (private communication), and in its brighter palette and tightly controlled paint application it is indeed characteristic of Robert's late architectural capriccios.