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Collections: European Art: Washerwomen in the Ruins of the Colosseum

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Washerwomen in the Ruins of the Colosseum

In 1754 Hubert Robert traveled to Italy to further his artistic training and soon found himself captivated by the crumbling ruins of ancient monuments. During his eleven-year stay in Italy, Robert assembled a vast “catalogue” of drawings of such sites, which he would later include in the historically evocative fantasy scenes that earned him both patronage and acclaim. In this painting’s combination of real and imagined structures, the recognizable pierced walls of Rome’s Colosseum loom over the coffered arches of another decaying structure, while washerwomen gather around a fire.

Artist: Hubert Robert, French, 1733-1808
Medium: Oil on canvas
Place Made: France
Dates: ca. 1760s
Dimensions: 17 3/4 x 22 3/4 in. (45.1 x 57.8 cm) Frame: 23 1/4 x 28 in. (59.1 x 71.1 cm)
Collections: European Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Beaux-Arts Court, South, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 1994.70
Credit Line: Anonymous gift
Image: Overall, 1994.70_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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jamon (6)
- ruins
- Colosseum
- Rome
- coffers
- coffered
- fire
ninakuriloff (3)
- oil on canvas
- French Painting
- washerwomen

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