Figures in Classical Ruins

Hubert Robert

About 1760s/1770s

Robert’s many scenes of picturesque ruins led his contemporaries to dub him Robert des Ruines. He studied at the French Academy in Rome from 1754-1765, where he was influenced by depictions of the city and surrounding landscape. This drawing is an example of a capriccio, an invented landscape. Imaginary scenes such as this were an extremely popular genre in the eighteenth century. While this drawing may date from Robert’s Roman period, we do know that he returned to Paris with many sketches from which he continued to draw inspiration for the rest of his career.

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A monkey stands upright near a tree facing the right with head turned to the left. Another monkey is seen in profile holding onto the tree trunk.
Three men in knee length coats stand around a booth full of small bags. A sign hangs above the booth.
Mary, Joseph, three Shepherds and two angels surround a crib covered with a white cloth on which rests the newsborn Jesus. Behind, on the left, a monumental stone colums that belongs to building. In the far distance, on a hillside, shepherds with their flock by a tent. Above, the sky opens and an angel descends through the clouds in a ray of light.
John the Baptist pours water from a bowl onto Christ who stands in a stream. A Dominican nun kneels in the foreground below John and two angels look on in the background.