Hubert ROBERT (Paris, 1733 - 1808) Family near a fountain in a landscape Oil on canvas (Original canvas) (Minor lifting) Family close to a fountain in a landscape, oil on canvas, by H. Robert 22.44 x 40.15 in. 57 x 102 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Audap Godeau Solanet, 14 June 1989, no. 66 Borrowings from Roman statuary and architecture permeate the work of Hubert Robert, who was permanently influenced by his long stay in Rome between 1754 and 1765. This fascination with antiquity, which the artist never seemed to abandon, even several years after his return to France, is revealed here in the representation of the Egyptian lion in basalt, from whose mouth water gushes. Two lions placed in pairs came from the Iseo Campense, a temple erected by Domitian in the Campus Martinus in honour of the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis. Initially installed at the entrance to the church of Santa Stefano del Cacco, in 1562 Pius IV Medici donated them to the Roman people to decorate the Capitoline 'cordonata' on two pedestals designed by Giacomo della Porta. The lions were adapted as fountains in 1587. The phenomena of variation and repetition run through Hubert Robert's work, and he enjoyed repeating certain motifs over and over again. The lions of the 'cordonata' are among the most recurrent subjects1. The female figure accompanied by young children and the young man filling a bowl with water are also similar to other figures in Robert's work. In particular, it evokes the washerwomen who are a feature of Robert's paintings. The landscape and sky are quickly sketched out. This view was probably intended for a door overlay that can be dated to the last years of the artist's career, at a time when Robert's art was still highly regarded. We would like to thank Sarah Catala for examining this painting in person on 2 October 2023 and confirming its authenticity. She dates the work to around 1790-1808. A study letter dated 4 October 2023 will be given to the buyer. 1 By way of example, we might mention 'Le Théâtre des eaux dans le jardin de la villa Aldobrandini', oil on canvas, circa 1765-1780, no. 52 in Sarah Catala's catalogue, Hubert Robert. De Rome à Paris, Paris, 2021, p. 151, repr. p. 92 and the drawing representing an architectural caprice with the port of Ripetta, the Pantheon and the Colosseum (no. 1 in the same catalogue), p. 144, repr. p. 158. Hubert ROBERT (Paris, 1733 - 1808) 57 x 102 cm