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The Mouth of a Cave

1784
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 631

Based on a bet with Queen Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI’s brother, the comte d’Artois, had a pleasure pavilion built on the outskirts of Paris in a mere sixty-four days through the labor of more than eight hundred craftsmen. Robert’s six paintings of Italian landscapes were installed in an elaborate bathing room, prompting their overarching theme of water. Having spent eleven years in Italy, where he befriended Jean Honoré Fragonard and other French artists abroad, Robert knew ancient architecture and sculpture deeply. In this series, however, instead of antiquarian exactitude, he combined sources freely.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Mouth of a Cave
  • Artist: Hubert Robert (French, Paris 1733–1808 Paris)
  • Date: 1784
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 68 3/4 x 31 1/4 in. (174.6 x 79.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.25
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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The Bathing Pool, Hubert Robert French, Oil on canvas
The Bathing Pool
Hubert Robert
1777–79
The Fountain, Hubert Robert French, Oil on canvas
The Fountain
Hubert Robert
1777–79
Wandering Minstrels, Hubert Robert French, Oil on canvas
Wandering Minstrels
Hubert Robert
1777–79
The Dance, Hubert Robert French, Oil on canvas
The Dance
Hubert Robert
1777–79
The Swing, Hubert Robert French, Oil on canvas
The Swing
Hubert Robert
1777–79

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