Artwork
Le Puits
Le Puits is a print by the Romanticist artist Hubert Robert. It dates from 1764 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
This shows a crumbling archway over a dry well in Rome. A woman in old-fashioned clothes looks up from the shadows. Two men stand beside her, one holding a ladder.
Robert made this from his own drawings. He turned real places into imaginary scenes. The light plays oddly on the stones, like late afternoon in summer.
Check out more by Hubert Robert (French, 1733–1808) next.
Overview
Le Puits is an etching by Hubert Robert, part of a suite of prints derived from the artist's pen-and-ink drawings. The series combines real Roman landmarks with fictional characters and scenes.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a woman in old-fashioned attire gazing upwards from the shadows near a dry well beneath a crumbling archway, accompanied by two men. The scene is set in Rome, blending actual locations with imaginary narratives.
Technique & Style
Robert's etching technique captures the play of light on the stones, evoking a late summer afternoon atmosphere. The use of chiaroscuro adds depth to the scene, with the woman emerging from the shadows.
History & Provenance
The suite, including Le Puits, was dedicated to Marguerite Le Compte, a visitor to Rome in 1764. Robert likely sought to secure future patronage from Le Compte, who was an amateur etcher and associated with artists and printmakers in Italy.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hubert Robert (French pronunciation: ; 22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy…
