Hubert Robert
View of the Ponte Lucano, near Tivoli, and the Tomb of the Plautii
Estimate:
40,000 - 60,000 USD
Authenticity guarantee
What is guaranteed?
Hubert Robert
Paris 1733 - 1808
View of the Ponte Lucano, near Tivoli, and the Tomb of the Plautii
signed and dated lower right: H. Robert/1795
oil on canvas
canvas: 32⅛ by 25⅜ in.; 81.5 by 64.5 cm.
framed:
The painting is in lovely state. The canvas has a modern glue relining and is firmly stretched. The painting is clean beneath a fresh clear varnish. The paint surface is slightly pressed and thin in areas of the darks, such as the rock formations but this does not affect a reading of the image. Inspection under ultraviolet reveals strengthening retouches scattered through the sky, providing definition is some of the architecture, tree and rock formations. These are largely cosmetic, are not visible to the naked eye and do not disrupt the image in any way. The painting requires no further work and is ready to hang. Offered in a carved gilt wood frame with some minor knocks and losses.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.
His (anonymous) sale, Paris Hôtel Drouot, 14 March 1910, lot 8;
There acquired by Lennie Davis;
Possibly Comte Legendre d'Onzembray, Château de Villemereuil, Aube;
Possibly Etienne Marie Antoine Champion, Comte de Nansouty, Paris;
Comte and Comtesse de la Béraudière, Paris;
With Edouard Jonas, Paris, by 1928;
Mrs. I.D. Levy, later Mrs. Joseph D. Heine, New York;
Her sale, New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 24-25 November 1944, lot 257, to E. Holt for $7,000;
Mrs. C. Lockhart McKelvy, Perrysburg, Ohio;
By whom given to the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio in 1945 (Acc. no. 45.24);
By whom sold, New York, Christie's, 6 June 1984, lot 94;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 December 1985, lot 87;
There acquired by a private collector, New York;
By whom anonymously sold ("Property of a New York Private Collector"), New York, Sotheby's, 29 January 2016, lot 541;
There acquired.
The Toledo Museum of Art: European Paintings, Toledo 1976, p. 395, reproduced;
C. Burgard, in Le Paysage et la question du sublime, exhibition catalogue, Valence 1997, p. 231, under cat. no. 38 (erroneously lists date as 1793).
New York, Wildenstein, Hubert Robert: The Pleasure of Ruins, 15 November-16 December 1988 (no number).
The Ponte Lucano, a graceful arched bridge spaning the Aniene River, is located about two miles from Tivoli. The bridge was built in the 1st century B.C. by M. Plautius Lucanus and served the road from Tivoli to Rome until the mid-20th century. The cylindrical structure seen at far right is the tomb of the Plautian family. The mausoleum was built by Marcus Plautius Silvanus, a friend of Caesar Augustus and consul in 2 B.C. Externally covered in blocks of travertine stone, it was much restored during the Middle Ages.
This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the paintings of Hubert Robert being prepared with the assistance of the Wildenstein Institute.