A capriccio of a tower with figures in the foreground, ruins and the sea beyond

Details

Hubert Robert (Paris 1733-1808)
A capriccio of a tower with figures in the foreground, ruins and the sea beyond
oil on canvas
13 1/8 x 10 in. (33.3 x 25.3 cm.)

Provenance

Marius Paulme; Hotel Drouot, Paris, 22 November 1923, lot 179. Schwob-d'Hericourt.
with Galerie Cailleux, Paris; Christie's, New York, 23 October 1998, lot 55.

Exhibited

Paris, Galerie Cailleux, Artistes en voyage, 1986, no. 54, illustrated.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The subject of the present lot is believed to have been inspired by the artist's visit to the fortress town of Benevento, near Naples, with his patron, the Abbé de Saint-Non, in 1760. The fortress was a theme that Hubert Robert returned to a number of times; see, for example, the large decoration formerly in the Kotzebue collection. This painting was probably executed in the 1780s, after his return to Paris.

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