Roman Ruins, Villa Pamfili
Medium
Pen and black ink and watercolor with black chalk underdrawing and heightened with white gouache on cream laid paper
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Harry D. Kendrick
Accession Number
1951.485
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
While living in Italy, Robert developed a fondness for classical architecture, making countless drawings that served as the basis for paintings and prints for decades after he returned to Paris. Denis Diderot (1713–1784), a French philosopher and art critic, nicknamed the artist “Robert of Ruins” due to Robert’s enduring interest in the subject. A quaint commentary on the passage of time, this drawing portrays the activities of contemporary life among the weathered remains of an ancient Roman bu...