«Hubert Robert»
Jean Honoré Fragonard·c. 1769
Historical Context
Portrait of Hubert Robert (c. 1769), in the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection in Zurich, depicts Fragonard's close friend and fellow artist, known as "Robert of the Ruins" for his paintings of Roman architectural ruins. The two artists traveled together in Italy in 1760, and their friendship was one of the most productive in eighteenth-century French art. Fragonard renders Robert with the bold, spontaneous brushwork of his fantasy portrait series, the fellow painter's creative energy captured in every stroke.
Technical Analysis
The bold impasto strokes build up the figure with remarkable confidence and speed. The animated expression and theatrical costume exemplify Fragonard's fantasy portrait genre at its most accomplished.
