Image scanned/or photographed from transparency and color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Landscape with a Temple

Artist Hubert Robert (French, 1733-1808)

CultureFrench

Dateca. 1765-1800

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions64 x 46 in. (162.6 x 116.8 cm)
Overall, Frame: 69 1/4 x 49 1/2 in. (175.9 x 125.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number81.1

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 208

DescriptionThis oil on canvas painting depicts the ruins of Rome: the Colosseum, the Pantheon, a sculpture of a captive barbarian and one of the marble Horse Tamers of Monte Cavallo all occupy one space. Several figures, as well as their cows, are in the painting.

Label TextHubert Robert French, 1733–1808 Landscape with a Temple, 18th century Oil on canvas Hubert Robert’s painting brings together a group of ancient monuments—the Colosseum and Pantheon among them—that are actually miles apart in Rome. Such imaginary groupings of the city’s antique remains were a common subject for Neoclassical artists. These works not only celebrated Rome's ancient grandeur, but also served a moral purpose, reminding viewers of the transitory nature of all human achievements. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 81.1 ProvenanceAchille-Fould, Château de Beychevelle (near Bordeaux); Samuel W. Pray, Philadelphia; Acquavella Galleries, 1950; Samuel W. Pray, 1953; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, 1981. Exhibition History"French Masters of the Eighteenth Century," Finch College Museum of Art, New York, Feb. 27 - April 7, 1963. (Exhib. cat. no. 31). "Homage to the Louvre," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, May - Sept., 1976. "Treasures from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, Nashville, June 12 - Sept. 5, 1977. (Exhib. cat. no. 25). "French Paintings from The Chrysler Museum," North Carolina Museum of Art, May 31 - Sept. 14, 1986; Birmingham Museum of Art, Nov. 6, 1986 - Jan. 18, 1987. (Exhib. cat. no. 14). "Reopening of the Joan P. Brock Galleries," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Opening in March of 2008. "Classical Traditions at the Moses Myers House," Moses Myers House, Norfolk, VA, April 17 - December 1, 2013. "Thomas Jefferson, Architect: Palladian Models, Democratic Principles, and the Conflict of Ideals," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 19, 2019 - January 19, 2020.Published ReferencesNotes by Robert L. Manning. _A Loan Exhibition of French Masters of the Eighteenth Century_. Finch College Museum of Art, New York, New York. 1963. Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya. _Treasures from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr._. Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, Nashville. 1977. No. 25. Jefferson C. Harrison. _French Paintings from the Chrysler Museum_. The Chrysler Museum. 1986. No. 14, pp. 27-28. Jefferson C. Harrison. _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_. The Chrysler Museum. 1991. Plate 60, p. 80.