Hubert RobertFrench, 1733–1808Les Soirées de Rome: Le Buste
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Les Soirées de Rome: Le Buste” now? Collection: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Cleveland, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Derived from his own pen-and-ink drawings, this suite of etchings features fictional characters situated near recognizable buildings and statues in Rome. On the title page, Robert dedicated the suite to Marguerite Le Compte, who visited Rome in 1764 in the company of the wealthy author and art enthusiast Claude Henri Watelet. Both Le Compte and Watelet were amateur etchers, and they socialized with a group that included artists and printmakers centered at the academies in Italy. Robert’s dedication was likely motivated by the hope of future patronage from Le Compte. She may be the generous woman with a hand muff depicted in The Ancient Temple, the fifth scene in this series.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 1930.549
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access
In the life of Hubert Robert
The whole life1754–1765 · Workplace
Rome
1754–1765
Roman circle: Panini, Piranesi, Fragonard
In Rome Robert studied perspective under the veduta master Giovanni Paolo Panini, met Piranesi, and became friends with Jean-Honoré Fragonard and the Abbé de Saint-Non; with Fragonard he drew from nature in Rome and its environs and stayed for long periods at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli.
August 1765
Return to Paris
After eleven years in Italy Robert returned to Paris, where his success was swift.
1766 · Membership
Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture
