Robert, Hubert

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Robert, Hubert (1733–1808). French land-scape-painter and designer of gardens, known as Robert des Ruines because he often used Antique ruins as central elements in his pictures. He sometimes incorporated Egyptian and Egyptianizing motifs in his paintings, and played a minor role in the Egyptian Revival. He worked on the important gardens at Ermenonville (1770s) for René-Louis, Marquis de Girardin (1735–1808), and contributed to the design of one of the most enduring images of the period: the Île des Peupliers (Isle of Poplars) and the tomb of J. -J. Rousseau (1712–78). From 1786 he worked on designs for the remarkable garden of allusions at Méréville for Jean-Joseph, Marquis de Laborde (1724–94), in succession to Bélanger. He was a key figure in the transformation of the landscaped garden into a Picturesque place of allusions where sentimental, mnemonic, and moral associations informed the design.

Bibliography

BSHAF (1968), 127–33;
J. Curl (ed.) (2001);
M&T (1991);
Nolhac (1910);
L'Œil, clxxx (Dec. 1969), 30–41, 83, 96;
Racine (ed.) (2001);
Jane Turner (1996)

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture JAMES STEVENS CURL

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Hubert Robert

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