Hubert Robert

The painting has an old glue relining which is firm and stable. The paint surface is largely well retained under a slightly uneven varnish with good impasto though perhaps a little thinned in the water. There is a somewhat pronounced craquelure pattern in the sky, particularly above the figures though this does not detract from the image and the painting reads very well. Inspection under UV reveals possible old retouching and reworking in the sky and fine inpainting to the craquelure. The painting is ready to hang in its present state and is offered in a carved gilt wood frame.
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Joseph Baillio supports the attribution of the present work to Robert and dates it to circa 1805-1808. The picture will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the paintings of Hubert Robert being prepared by The Wildenstein Institute.