Hubert Robert

Alberto Bruni-Tedeschi;
By whom anonymously sold ("Property of a European Private Collector"), New York, Sotheby's, 21 May 1998, lot 133;
There purchased by the present owner.

H. Burda, Die Ruine in den bildern Hubert Roberts, 1967, p. 63, illus. pl. 58;
J. de Cayeux, Hubert Robert et les Jardins, 1987, pp. 118-19, The Pyramid illus. 92 in color; 
G. Herzog, Hubert Robert und das Bild im Garten, 1989, p. 88, pl. 58 (as location unknown)

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting on canvas has been lined using wax as an adhesive. There appears to be a good deal of waxy varnish on the surface as well. The lining is ineffective, and the varnish is also extremely inappropriate and ugly. If the lining is reversed and the paint layer cleaned, the work will hopefully be revealed to be in fresh and respectable condition. A lot depends on how well a new lining manages to eliminate the raised cracking. There are very few actual retouches. Those that one can see under ultraviolet light are probably the only ones that have been applied. They have been added here and there to reduce cracking. There is a brushy thinness to some of the architecture and foliage throughout. Some of the thinness here may be slightly exaggerated due to harsh cleanings in the past. However, the right kind of delicate and thoughtful retouching to the painting should present this picture very well.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The gardens at Ermenoville in the Oise were begun in 1766 by the gardener Thomas Blaikie and architect Jean-Marie Morel; Robert was commissioned to design many of the outbuildings and follies (fabriques) one of which was the Temple de la Philosophie. The Temple still survives (see Literature, Cayeux 1987, p. 161). The design of the temple as shown here reflects the lessons learned during Robert's ten-year long stay in Italy. The Temple of Philosophy is based on the Temple of Sibyl at Tivoli. Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart (1739-1813) owned a smaller replica of the present painting, which was sold in the sale of his possessions in Paris, 27 March 1792 (see Literature, Cayeux 1987, p. 150). Brongniart was an architect who later took over the revitalization of the Sèvres manufactories for Napoleon. He was buried in Père Lachaise which he designed in 1804 when he was Chief of Public Works. 

When last sold (see Provenance), this picture was sold as a pair with Robert's Pyramid of Maupertius. That work, signed and dated 1798, suggests that this canvas was painted either in the same year or around the same moment as its probable pendant. When last sold it was also indicated that both pictures would be included in the catalogue raisonné of the paintings of Hubert Robert being prepared by the Wildenstein Institute.