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Roman Ruins, Villa Pamfili

Image courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art | CC0 1.0

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Date

1774

Artist

Hubert Robert (1733-1808)

Collection

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Image Link

http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.485

Description

While living in Italy, Robert developed a fondness for classical architecture, making countless drawings that served as the basis for paintings and prints for decades after he returned to Paris. Denis Diderot (1713–1784), a French philosopher and art critic, nicknamed the artist “Robert of Ruins” due to Robert’s enduring interest in the subject. A quaint commentary on the passage of time, this drawing portrays the activities of contemporary life among the weathered remains of an ancient Roman building. Despite the traditional title of the drawing, there is no evidence that such ruins ever existed at the Villa Pamphili. The towering columns supporting a decorative frieze may instead derive from the Roman Forum’s Temple of Saturn.
Medium: Pen and black ink and watercolor with black chalk underdrawing and heightened with white gouache on cream laid paper
Credit Line: Gift of Harry D. Kendrick
Accesion Number: 1951.485

Image Licence

CC0 1.0

Image Credit

Image courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Location

Villa Doria Pamphili, Rome, Italy

Country

Tags

Public Spaces
Archaeological Sites
Ruins

Category

Buildings & Architecture

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform