Three Young Girls by Ruins
ca. 1790
Medium
Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, and pink, blue, moss green, and pale gold watercolor.
Dimensions
14 3/16 x 11 5/16 in. (36.1 x 28.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.696
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the enchanting drawing *Three Young Girls by Ru* (ca. 1790), French artist Hubert Robert places three young girls amid crumbling ancient architecture, including tall obelisks that evoke the grandeur of Egypt and Rome. Known as "Robert des Ru," Robert was a master of *vedute ideate*—inary architectural landscapes that blend real historical remnants with poetic fancy. Created on the eve of the French, this work reflects the era's neoclassical obsession with antiquity, offering a nostalgic escape into a timeless, harmonious past amid political upheaval. Robert's technique shines through metic...
About the Artist
Hubert Robert · 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....