Hubert Robert

Robert Hubert was born in Paris in 1733. He was first meant to become an ecclesiastic, but opted for an artistic career. He sojourned in Rome for ten years beginning in 1753. There, in addition to the works of Panini and Piranesi, his encounters with Fragonard and the Abbé de Saint-Non were of decisive importance for his artistic development. After his return to Paris he enjoyed a successful career as a painter, later as a garden architect as well. In 1766 he was accepted into the Academy as 'Peintre d'architecture'. Beginning in 1784 and again in 1795 he was a member of the commission charged with reorganising the royal art collections for a public museum. He died in Paris in 1808.