Entrance to the Grotto of Posillipo
Medium
Brush and brown wash, over a red chalk counterproof with traces of black chalk; framing lines in pen and brown ink
Dimensions
18 1/4 x 13 in. (46.4 x 33 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Harold K. Hochschild, 1940
Accession Number
40.91.17
Tags
Art Historical Context
Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings Prints department are drawn into the shadowy allure of *Entrance to the Grotto Posillipo*, a captivating undated work attributed to Hubert Robert alongside anonymous French artists of the 18th and 19th centuries. This captures the dramatic entrance to the ancient Grotto of Posill, a real natural tunnel in Naples, Italy—carved through volcanic rock since Roman times and famed for framing panoramic views of the Bay of Naples Mount Vesuvius. At 18¼ x 13 inches, it evokes the era's Romantic fascination with dramatic landscapes and hidden natura...
About the Artist
Hubert Robert|Anonymous, French, 19th century|Anonymous, French, 18th century · 1733–1808
Hubert Robert, born on May 22, 1733, in Paris, emerged from a modest background; his father, Nicolas Robert, served the influential Choiseul family, whose patronage shaped the young artist's path. After completing his studies at the Jesuit Collège de Navarre in 1751, he entered the atelier of sculptor Michel-Ange Slodtz, who taught him design and perspective before encouraging a shift to painting....