Vaulted Staircase

Hubert Robert (1733-1808) was a French painter known as Robert des Ruines for his paintings of architectural ruins and imaginary architectural scenes that combine the topographical accuracy of the view painter with the picturesque imagination of the Romantic tradition. Vaulted Staircase from c. 1770-79 depicts an architectural interior in the picturesque, atmospheric manner that distinguishes Robert's best architectural subjects from the more topographical view painting of his contemporaries. The c. 1770-79 date places this in Robert's most productive period, when he was producing the architectural capricci and ruin scenes that made him one of the most popular painters in late 18th-century Paris.

Vaulted Staircase is important in the history of French painting because it demonstrates the picturesque, architectural manner that made Hubert Robert one of the most popular painters in late 18th-century Paris. Robert's architectural capricci—imaginary architectural scenes that combine topographical accuracy with picturesque imagination—represent an important tradition in French painting that bridges the gap between the topographical view painting of the 18th century and the Romantic picturesque of the 19th century.

Vaulted Staircase is Hubert Robert's picturesque architecture: a vaulted staircase rendered in the atmospheric, imaginative manner that made him Robert des Ruines, one of the most popular painters in late 18th-century Paris. The c. 1770-79 painting bridges topographical view painting and Romantic picturesque imagination.