The Obelisk
Hubert Robert · 1787 · Art Institute of Chicago
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From the museum
This painting is one of four depictions of architectural fantasies by Hubert Robert commissioned by the Marquis de Laborde for his elegant country estate at Méréville, south of Paris. It features a grandiose vaulted space that frames an obelisk, with a peristyle, or colonnade, closing off the distance. Through years of study in Italy, Robert absorbed the vocabulary of Classical architecture and sculpture into his own imaginative language. Here, the female figure in the central niche is based on a first-century sculpture that the artist would have seen during his stay in Rome.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Details
- Maker
- Hubert Robert (French, 1733-1808)
- Date
- 1787
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 255.6 × 223.5 cm (100 7/8 × 88 in.); Framed: 265.5 × 233.4 cm (104 1/2 × 91 7/8 in.)
- Place of origin
- France
- Held by
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · On view · Gallery 218
- Credit line
- Gift of Clarence Buckingham
Image: Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
