About the Artist
Hubert Robert (1733-1808) was a master of capricci – imaginary landscapes, usually containing crumbling Roman remains, or brooding castles, or romantically overgrown colonnades. So skilled was the artist in this genre that he became known as ‘Robert des ruines’. Robert was also an accomplished designer of gardens (another way of imagining nature), and counted the French royal family among his clients. This connection to royalty led to his arrest and imprisonment after the Revolution of 1789. He escaped the guillotine only because a prisoner with a similar name was executed in his place. While held in prison, he continued to paint scenes on earthenware plates. After his release he resumed his illustrious and prolific career. He was an enormously energetic artist. it is estimated that he completed more than 1000 paintings and 10,000 drawings.
About the Artwork
Hubert Robert’s ‘Deux Femmes au bord de la mer au soleil couchant’ (‘Two Women on the Seashore at Sunset’) is a companion piece to his depiction of fishermen gathering their nets (also available through Lito). Both works seem to depict the same stretch of shoreline, and the elongated proportions of the canvases are almost identical. But this work portrays a different section of the façade of the solid stone fort, and the scene takes place at the close of the day rather than at dawn. One of the women holds a fishing rod – loosely and inexpertly, just for the fun of it. So this duo – unlike the two fishermen that they echo – are not doing any hard work. And even the boatman is idle as he waits, perhaps, to ferry the two ladies back to the comfort of the imposing castle on the far shore.