772014

College Art Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Parnassus.

http://www.jstor.org

Two Paintings by Hubert Robert Author(s): Walter Friedlaender Source: Parnassus, Vol. 11, No. 8 (Dec., 1939), pp. 18-19Published by: College Art AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/772014Accessed: 18-04-2015 15:08 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of contentin a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

This content downloaded from 143.107.252.70 on Sat, 18 Apr 2015 15:08:37 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

RUINS OF THE LOUVRE Formerly at Tsarskoje-Tseio HUBERT ROBERT

Two Paintings by Hubert Robert by Waller Friedlaender

W HEN the author of these lines was in Leningrad studying the paintings of the Hermitage he was

also allowed to visit the former Imperial palaces of Tsars- koje-Tselo, Tawlowsk and Gatschina. At this time, eleven years ago, the treasures of art in Russia were still untouched by sales abroad. The corridors of the palaces were literally stuffed with the most precious furniture, mostly of French origin, purchased by Catherine II, Paul I and Alexander I. I was especially astonished by the number of paintings and decorations by Hubert Robert which were so well suited to the furniture. About half of this "mobilier," as far as I have heard, has been sold in recent years. Some of these excellent pieces of French handicraft of the later "Dix-

huitieme," many of which are signed, may now be seen in the Gallery "Le Passe", which has just opened on East 57th Street.

Amongst this elegant furniture and precious bric-a-brac are some paintings of the period: a very refined portrait of a Lady by Mme. Vigee-Lebrun, who worked in Russia, and La Cuisiniere by Leopold Boilly. The most outstanding pieces are two pictures by Hubert Robert, remarkable not only for their high quality-his work is not always on the same level-but also for the very interesting and curious subject matter. Both represent the Grande Galerie du Louvre, but seen from quite different aspects.

EIGHTEEN


Hubert Robert was famous for his Italian landscapes with ruins, which delighted the romantic sentiments not only of the French, but of Russian "amateurs" as well. It is not so well known that, for many years, especially after his return from Italy, Robert was interested in the reorganiza- tion of the Louvre. He had been a "garde du Musee du Roi" under the old regime, and at the time of the Revolu- tion he was one of the five members forming the Con- servatoire du Musee National. The result of this occupa- tion was one of the pictures here. It represents a "Projet pour eclairer la Galerie du Musee du Louvre par la voue et pour la diviser sans 6ter la rue de la prolongation du local". It was exhibited in the Salon of the year V (1796). The sketch for it is in the Louvre. The Grande Galerie is lighted by large skylight windows let into the barrel vaults alternating with arches. Columns and pilasters ac- centuate the side walls without interrupting the vista. Famous paintings such as the Holy Family of Francis I

by Raphael, or Guido Reni's Hercules and Dejanira hang on the wall and are admired by the public. In 1796 Perrier and Fontaine got the commission to realize the project, but it never came to pass. Just recently the project of Hubert Robert has been reconsidered.

But the romantic mood of Robert was not satisfied with this matter-of-fact representation. He exhibited in the same salon of 1796 the same gallery of the Louvre, but in the state of Roman ruins after the decline of the Roman Empire, a typical eighteenth century conception. Maybe the thought of the destruction of public buildings during the Revolution played a part in it, but not necessarily. We see the Gallery of the Louvre in ruins, roofless with the blue sky above, and as in Rome, young artists sketching the remains of the famous statues such as the Apollo Bel- vedere. A fragment of the Slave of Michelangelo is lying in one corner. "Sic transit gloria mundi."

THE LOUVRE Formerly at Tsarskoje-Tselo HUBERT ROBERT This painting and that on page 18 are included in the December exhibition of French Paintings of the XVIII Century at the Gallery "Le Passe"


Article Contentsp. 18p. [19]

Issue Table of ContentsParnassus, Vol. 11, No. 8, Dec., 1939Front Matter [pp. 1 - 46]The Madonna in Armor [pp. 5 - 7]Picasso: A Critical Estimate [pp. 8 - 12][Decorations in Glass] [pp. 13 - 17]Two Paintings by Hubert Robert [pp. 18 - 19]Masterpieces of Italian Painting at the Art Institute of Chicago [pp. 20 - 21]Exhibitions in New York [pp. 22 - 45]An Exhibition of Chinese Porcelains [pp. 29 - 31]Notes on the Collection of Mrs. Cornelius J. Sullivan [pp. 32 - 33]Master and Workshop in the Venetian Renaissance [pp. 34 - 45]Recent Museum Acquisitions [pp. 37 - 39]New Books on Art[Illustration]: Leclre and Provost by Ingres [p. 40]untitled [pp. 40 - 41]untitled [p. 41]untitled [p. 41][Illustration]: Statuette by Guitou Knoop. At Wildenstein's [p. 41]untitled [pp. 42 - 43][Illustration]: The Sealskin Muff, Jo Paddock. In Her Current Exhibition at the Fifteen Gallery [p. 42][Illustration]: Night Windows, Edward Hopper [p. 43]untitled [pp. 43 - 44][Illustration]: St. Ives by Gordon M. McCouch. In His Exhibition of Paintings at the Montross Galleries through December [p. 44][Illustration]: Brown's Barn, Frederic Whitaker. In His Exhibition of Water Colors on View at the American Salon until December 16 [p. 44]

Corrigenda: What to Do about the Carnegie? [p. 45]Exhibitions in New York [pp. 47 - 48]Back Matter [pp. 48 - 48]

772014

Documents

Transcript of 772014