Description
Hubert Robert had been living in Rome for five years when he executed this watercolor. He was fascinated by the architecture and gardens he saw in Italy and became especially interested in the picturesque interaction between Italy's rich artistic past and the daily life he saw on the streets. This sheet does not represent an actual view. It is, rather, an invention of the artist, who liked to create architectural fantasies by combining the different types of structures he became familiar with in Rome. Here, he enlivened the view with washerwomen doing laundry.
Provenance
Orr, London (according to Butkin records). Stephanie Maison, London (according to Butkin records). Arcade Gallery, London (according to Butkin records); purchased in 1975.
Accession Number
2008.362
Medium
pen and brown and gray ink, graphite, and watercolor
Dimensions
Sheet: 30.9 x 27.8 cm (12 3/16 x 10 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Tags
Drawing Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Watercolor Ink Graphite & Pencil French
Background & Context
Background Story
Hubert Robert (1733-1808) was a French painter known for the elegantly composed, atmospheric landscape paintings of classical ruins that earned him the nickname 'Robert des Ruines' and make him one of the most accomplished painters of the French landscape tradition. A Palace with an Arched Bridge (A Roman Villa) from 1760 depicts a palace with an arched bridge in the elegantly composed, atmospheric manner that distinguishes Robert's best work from the more general landscape painting of his contemporaries. Robert was known for the elegantly composed, atmospheric paintings of classical ruins and imaginary architectural scenes, and the 1760 painting shows this tradition at its most elegantly composed.
Cultural Impact
A Palace with an Arched Bridge (A Roman Villa) is important in the history of French landscape painting because it demonstrates the elegantly composed, atmospheric manner that Hubert Robert—known as 'Robert des Ruines'—brought to classical architectural subjects as one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the French tradition. Robert's elegantly composed, atmospheric views of classical ruins and imaginary architectural scenes represent one of the most accomplished traditions in French landscape painting, and the 1760 painting shows this tradition at its most elegantly composed.
Why It Matters
A Palace with an Arched Bridge is Robert des Ruines' elegantly composed French landscape: a Roman villa with an arched bridge rendered in the atmospheric manner of one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the French tradition. The 1760 painting shows classical architecture at its most elegantly composed.
