Capriccio with the Pantheon before the Porto di Ripetta
Hubert Robert (1733–1808)
1761
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Hubert Robert was one of the supreme topographical painters of the eighteenth century, and one of the most important French artists of his time. His father was the 'valet de chambre' (manservant) of the Marquis de Stainville, a connection that was to prove decisive in kickstarting his career. From 1754 to 1765, he was based in Rome, where he enjoyed the patronage of the Marquis’s son, the Comte de Stainville, the French ambassador, who subsequently became the Duc de Choiseul (1719–75), and was one of the most prominent political figures of the age. After over a decade in Rome, where the main influence upon him was Gian Paolo Pannini, Robert returned to Paris in triumph, and in essence never looked back, although his final years were blighted by the French Revolution.
The present painting proved to be of crucial importance in the evolution of Robert’s career. Signed and dated 1761, and also inscribed with the name of its recipient, the artist’s patron the Duc de Choiseul, it was among the works he chose to submit in 1766 – in the form of a replica – when he sought to become an 'agrée' (associate) of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris. In the event, he was simultaneously made an agrée and an academician, a signal honour which Pannini had earlier been accorded in 1732.
This type of picture is known as a capriccio, which means it involves a fantastical arrangement of a number of actual buildings – possibly in conjunction with some invented elements. In this instance, the dominant structure is a slightly modified version of the Pantheon, set above the port of the Ripetta in Rome, and with Michelangelo’s Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitol and Bernini’s colonnade in Saint Peter’s Square beyond to the left. As is customary with Robert, a warm sun bathes the scene, and it is enlivened by brilliantly observed knots of figures going about their daily business.
- Material/technique
- oil on canvas, unlined
- Measurements
- 102 × 146 cm
- Acquisition
- acquired in 1951 by Prince Franz Josef II von und zu Liechtenstein
- Artists/makers/authors
- Hubert Robert
- Inventory number
- GE 511
- Provenance
- Auction of the Duc de Choiseul Collection, 6 April 1772, lot 141; Auction of the du Barry Collection, 21 November 1774, lot 102 ; 1793-1809 Nicolas Reber Collection, Basel; then Collection of the Grand Duke Ludwig I von Hessen; acquired in 1951 by Prince Franz Josef II von und zu Liechtenstein from the holdings of the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt
- Iconography
- Architectural cappriccio
C. Blanc, Le trésor de la curiosité, tiré des catalogues de vente, Bd. 1, Bd. Bd. 1, Paris 1857, S. 199
Th. von Frimmel, Das Pantheonbild des Hubert Robert in der Darmstädter Galerie, in: Blätter für Gemäldekunde 4 1908, S. 180-182
E. Dacier, Catalogues de ventes et livrets de Salons illustrés par Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, Bd. 2, Teil 3, Catalogue de la vente A. Du Barry (1774), Bd. Bd. 2, Paris 1910, S. 28
Pierre de Nolhac, Hubert Robert, 1733-1808, Paris 1910, S. 94
F. Back, Grossherzogliches Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt: Verzeichnis der Gemälde, Darmstadt 1914, Kat. 160
P. Sentenac, Hubert Robert, Paris 1929, S. 21f., Abb. 2
C. Sterling, Ausst.-Kat. Exposition Huber Robert 1733-1808. A l'occasion du deuxième centenaire de sa naissance, Paris 1933, S. 35, Kat. 5
J. Seznec u. J. Adhémar, Diderot Salons, Bd. III, Bd. Bd. III, Oxford 1963, S. 235f., u. Abb. 51
Ausst.-Kat. Meisterwerke der Malerei aus Privatsammlungen im Bodenseegebiet, Oskar Sandner, Verein Bregenzer Kunstausstellungen (Hg.), Künstlerhaus, Bregenz 1.7.1965–30.9.1965, erschienen Bregenz 1965, S. 68, Kat. 85
Hubert Burda, Die Ruine in den Bildern Hubert Roberts, München 1967, S. 90ff., Abb. 112
M. Beau, La collection des dessin d'Hubert Robert au Musée de Valence, Lyon 1968, Kat. 24
P. Rosenberg, Ausst.-Kat. Mostra di disegni francesi da Callot a Ingres, Florenz 1968, S. 73
Ausst.-Kat. Angelika Kauffmann und ihre Zeitgenossen, Oskar Sandner, erschienen Bregenz 1968, S. 129, Nr. 402, Abb. 210
L. Guilmard, Ausst.-Kat. Louis XV. Un moment de perfection de l'art francais, Paris 1974, S. 146
J. Cailleux, L'art du Dix-huitième Siècle. Hubert Robert's Submissions to the Salon of 1769, in: The Burlington Magazine 117, Advertisement Supplement Nr. 32 1975, S. V
M. Roland-Michel, Ausst.-Kat. Piranèse et les Francais 1740-1790, Rom 1976, S. 311
M.B. Lossky, Le projet d'une place Louis XVI à Brest par Claude Jallier de Savault, in: Bulletin de la Societé de l'Histoire de l'Art francais 1976, S. 257f., u. Abb. 2
Ausst.-Kat. Hubert Robert. Drawings & Watercolors, Victor Carlson (Hg.), erschienen Washington 1978, S. 68
Reinhold Baumstark, Meisterwerke der Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein. Gemälde, Zürich–München 1980, S. 311–312, Kat.-Nr. 158, Tafel 158
P. Rosenberg u. F. Bergot, Ausst.-Kat. French Master Drawings from the Rouen Museum from Caron to Delacroix, Washington 1981, S. 83
W. von Kalnein, Galeria Mundi II. Eine Reise durch die Museen, Frankfurt 1984, S. 28-29
Guy C. Bauman, Ausst.-Kat. Liechtenstein. The Princely Collections, New York 1985, S. 229-231, Kat. 146
H. Bideau, Trügerische Räume - das Architekturcapriccio, in: Der Traum vom Raum. Gemalte Architektur aus 7 Jahrhunderten, Nürnberg 1986, S. 89, Abb. 5
Ph. Morel, Ausst. J.H. Fragonard e H. Robert a Roma, Rom 1990, S. 136, Nr. 83, Abb. Farbtaf. S. 160, Nr. 24
Johann Kräftner, Ausst.-Kat. Neoclassicismo e Biedermeier, Wien 2004, S. 69, Abb. S. 63, Kat. I.16
Ausst.-Kat. Neoclassicism and Biedermeier, Johann Kräftner, Liechtenstein Museum, Wien 29.3.2004–7.11.2004, erschienen Wien 2004, S. 69, Abb. S. 63, Kat. I.16
Ausst.-Kat. Klassizismus und Biedermeier. Liechtenstein Museum Wien, Stefan Körner, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), Liechtenstein Museum, Wien 29.3.2004–7.11.2004, erschienen München–Berlin–London–New York 2004, S. 69, Abb. S. 63, Kat. I.16
Ausst.-Kat. I Tesori del Principe / Princely Treasures / Les Tresors du Prince. Capolavori delle Collezioni del Principe del Liechtenstein, Johann Kräftner, Gabriele Accornero (Hg.), Forte di Bard, Bard 9.12.2011–31.5.2012, erschienen Bard 2011, S. 152, Abb. 153
Ausst.-Kat. Splendeurs des Collections du Prince de Liechtenstein / Splendours of the Collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein, Alexandra Hanzl, Kathrine Klopf-Weiss, Johann Kräftner, Brigitte Lackner, Michael Schweller, Arthur Stögmann, Johann Kräftner, Caroline Messensee (Hg.), Palais Lumière, Evian 4.6.2011–2.10.2011, erschienen Montreuil 2011, Abb. 174
Johann Kräftner, Die Schätze der Liechtenstein. Paläste, Gemälde, Skulpturen, Wien 2013, Abb. S. 254, 255
Johann Kräftner, The Treasures of the Liechtensteins. Palaces, Paintings, Sculptures, Vienna 2013
Ausst.-Kat. Le goût de Diderot. Greuze, Chardin, Falconet, David ..., Michel Hilaire, Sylvie Wuhrmann, Olivier Zeder (Hg.), Musée Fabre, Montpellier 5.10.2013–12.1.2014; Fondation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne 7.2.2014–1.6.2014, erschienen Paris 2013, S. 346–347, Kat.-Nr. 85
Ausst.-Kat. Les Collections du Prince de Liechtenstein. Cranach, Raphael, Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Vernet, Hubert Robert, Vigée-Lebrun, Fonds Mercator (Hg.), Caumont Centre d’Art, Aix-en-Provence 7.11.2015–20.3.2016, erschienen Brüssel 2015, S. 126–127, Kat.-Nr. 31
Ausst.-Kat. Liechtenstein. Die Fürstlichen Sammlungen, Regula Berger, Matthias Frehner und Rainer Lawicki (Hg.), Kunstmuseum, Bern 12.11.2016–19.3.2017, erschienen München 2016, S. 287, Kat.-Nr. 167
Ausst.-Kat. Hubert Robert, Margaret Morgan Grasselli, Yuriko Jackall (Hg.), Musée du Louvre, Paris 9.3.2016–30.5.2016; National Gallery of Art, Washington 26.6.2016–2.10.2016, erschienen London 2016, (zur Zweitversion von 1766) S. 225–226, Kat.-Nr. 49, Abb. S. 139
Ausst.-Kat. GRAND TOUR. Sogno d’Italia da Venezia a Pompei, Fernando Mazzocca, Stefano Grandesso, Francesco Leone (Hg.), Milano, Gallerie d'Italia - Piazza Scala, Milano 19.11.2021–27.3.2022, erschienen Milano 2021, S. 81, cat. II.4