Catala, Sarah; Wick, Gabriel; Robert, Hubert — Hubert Robert Et la Fabrique Des Jardins

Paris, Reunion des Musees Nationaux, 2017. Softcover. Small oblong quarto. Softcover. Illustrated wraps. 143 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), plans ; 17 x 25 cm. French text. This book is published to coincide with the eponymous exhibition held at the Château de la Roche-Guyon from September 9 to November 26, 2017. Admitted as an "architectural painter" to the Royal Academy in 1766, praised by Diderot, and appointed "designer of the King's Gardens," Hubert Robert is famous for his numerous views of ruins and landscapes. He also devoted part of his time to teaching drawing to amateurs. Aristocrats and financiers marveled at his work, copied it, and eagerly sought out the pieces of this "Robert of the Ruins," in which the spirit of the English garden and the fashionable "picturesque" style shines through. Soon, he was being asked to design landscape layouts, in other words, to contribute to the creation of gardens at Versailles, Rambouillet, Méréville, and La Roche-Guyon. In this castle, the La Rochefoucauld family estate and a place of botanical innovation since the beginning of the 18th century, the artist exercises his immense creative power and stages the posterity of his patrons. VG-. Wear around edges, and some heavy scuffing around the barcode on the rear panel.