Hubert Robert

Commissioned from the artist by Baron de Waldner, Château de Levis, France;
With C. Moreland Agnew, Esq., London & Paris;
His sale, London, Christie, Manson & Woods, 9 July 1926, lot 142;
Alvan T. Fuller, Boston (1878-1958);
His (deceased) sale ("The  Property of the Fuller Foundation, Inc."), London, Christie's, 1 December 1961, lot 74;
Where purchased by Agnew;
With Partridge & Sons Ltd.;
From whom acquired by the present owner in 1978.

Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Alvan T. Fuller Memorial Exhibition, 1959, no. 17, reproduced.

"Paintings from America," in The Illustrated London News, 25 November 1961, v. 239, p. 929, reproduced.

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 is a painting which on the one hand is a unique composition by a great master, but on the other hand has been unfairly treated by a restorer probably in the last 50 years. A fresh approach to the conservation is highly recommended. This painting, as has been said, has been restored but although the lining is quite successful, the retouching is very heavy handed and quite visible to the naked eye. Beginning in the lower left corner there are retouches, most likely addressing paint loss and other damage, in the water extending up through the landscape to the left of the tree, in to the branches of the tree and above the tree in the sky. Beneath the branch of the tree directly above the canvas also in the sky, there are fairly significant restorations and there are further restorations in the lower center of the sky, visible to the naked eye. When one moves towards the center and the right of the picture, considerably fewer restorations are apparent and it is only the isolated spots in the canvas itself and here and there, which attract any attention. The right side of the picture is nicely preserved however the left side has obviously received some damage in the past. The restorations however, for such an unusual and decorative picture by Robert, could easily and successfully be improved, for instance one can see that the reinterpretation of the limbs on the tree is at present very amateurish. Therefore, even though there is restoration to this picture, it could be greatly improved to benefit the image overall.
"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."

A prolific painter of Roman ruins, gardens, and landscape and architectural fantasies, Robert imbued his work with a sense of imagination and an idyllic, timeless quality.  Depicting an expansive landscape, in which a shrub covered wall leads back into the distance along a narrow, straight canal, the scene is rendered in loose, fluid brushstrokes in cool tones of blue and green.  The figures in the foreground add a bucolic feel to the canvas:  a rustic peasant fishes from the bank, while another poles his small boat up to a waiting mother and her two children.  Other figures are visible entering and leaving the canal area through an arched opening in the hedged wall.  The overall feeling is one of timelessness and serenity, and of man and nature in harmony.

When the present painting was sold at Christie's in 1926, it was listed as having been commissioned from the artist by the Baron de Waldner for the decoration of his château de Levis in Alsace.  Indeed, when the painting came up for sale again in 1961, it was one of two canvases by Robert, of almost exact dimensions, that had Waldner provenance and belonged to Alvan T. Fuller (1878-1958), the prominent businessman, politician, philanthropist and art collector from Massachusetts (see provenance). The other work, entitled The Cascade (London, Christie's, 1 December 1961, lot 73, where purchased by Agnew), also depicted rustic figures in an idealized landscape setting, and the two were exhibited together at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1959.  This may suggest that Robert conceived of the two as a pair, or that they were part of a larger decorative scheme for the château.