Hubert ROBERT (Paris, 1733 - 1808) Lot n° 168

A hermit praying in the ruins of a Roman temple Ink and watercolour 53 x 36.5 cm Dated 1786 on the hermit 's altar This watercolour by Hubert Robert is based on an oil composition painted by the artist in 1760 and currently kept at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Click here to bid In the ruins of a Roman temple, a hermit prays at the foot of the altar. Absorbed in his religious thoughts, he does not see the three mischievous young women who enter his refuge to steal the flowers of a makeshift shrine centered around an image of the Virgin and Child. Above them, a fourth woman, climbing a large ladder, tries to tickle the hermit's neck with a long leafy branch. On the far left, above the barrel abandoned on the ground, the hat and coat, which certainly belonged to the hermit, recall the Spanish fashion of the 1780s and 90s. On the large central slab that serves here as an altar are a crucifix, books, an open Bible and a skull. The latter motif, symbolising the ephemeral existence of man and his creations, echoes the bouquet of wilted flowers on the ground and the temple, which also recalls fallen greatness. Robert emphasizes the immensity of the ruins by creating a strong contrast between the small size of the figures and the massive columns of the ancient structure. In the foreground, on the right, an imposing column joins the two extremities of the composition, highlighting its immeasurable height. Nearby, the tiny bird, perched on the middle beam, and the couple of doves in the background, appear all the more fragile. This watercolour is one of the versions of a subject that Robert developed as early as 1760. In each composition, the hermit prays next to a modern brick wall built inside the Roman ru