{{ titlePrefix }} Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert (1733-1808) was a landscape draftsman and painter whose early training was sponsored by members of the Choiseul family, the employers of his parents who were retainers in their household. Topography per se and the direct observation of nature held little interest for Robert; he specialized in capricci, idealized landscape and architectural fantasies. An artist of amazing versatility and technical virtuosity, he painted subject matter ranging from the frivolous to the sublime. He could paint on virtually any scale, from colossal decorations to pictures the size of large miniatures. He developed a rapid alla prima technique in which detail was sacrificed for an overall effect. Robert was widely recognized not only as one of France’s preeminent landscape and view painters but also as an accomplished and highly resourceful garden designer.