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Lot Essay
These four large drawings are typical of Hubert Robert's late capricci, probably dating from the 1770s that depict Roman monuments in imaginary settings. The monuments depicted in these four drawings are the Dioscuri of the Serapis temple, the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, both from the Campidoglio; the statues of Castor and Pollux, from the Quirinal Hill with the statue of the Cesi Roma between them; and the statue of the Sibyl.
These watercolors were probably executed in France after Robert's return from Italy and based on earlier drawings. Another example of these classically-inspired capricci is in the Horvitz Collection (Mastery and Elegance. Two centuries of French Drawings from the Jeffrey E. Horvitz Collection, exhib. cat., Cambridge, Harvard University Art Museums, 1998, no. 90), located and dated 'Rome 1760' representing the Dioscuri. Another pair of drawings with approximately the same dimensions and dated 1758, depicts the statue of Pollux from the Quirinal Hill in an imaginary square with the Pantheon in the background (Anonymous sale; Paris, Tajan, 18 May 2006, lot 71).
These watercolors were probably executed in France after Robert's return from Italy and based on earlier drawings. Another example of these classically-inspired capricci is in the Horvitz Collection (Mastery and Elegance. Two centuries of French Drawings from the Jeffrey E. Horvitz Collection, exhib. cat., Cambridge, Harvard University Art Museums, 1998, no. 90), located and dated 'Rome 1760' representing the Dioscuri. Another pair of drawings with approximately the same dimensions and dated 1758, depicts the statue of Pollux from the Quirinal Hill in an imaginary square with the Pantheon in the background (Anonymous sale; Paris, Tajan, 18 May 2006, lot 71).