The Colonnade of Saint Peter's, Rome, during the Conclave (c.1769): Art, History and Details

The Colonnade of Saint Peter's, Rome, during the Conclave (c.1769) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hubert Robert (French, 1733–1808).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Hubert Robert studied and worked in Italy from 1754–65. Upon returning to Paris, he entered the Royal Academy as an architectural painter and full member in 1766. His time in Italy would prove to be influential and classical architectural subjects would dominate his subsequent oeuvre. Interior of the Colonnade of St. Peter's is based on a drawing dated 1758, the same year that Pope Clement XIII Rezzonico was elected. Given his interest in classical subjects, Robert has antiquated his subject by aging the condition of the columns and including a soldier dressed in ancient Roman armor. Similarly, Robert imaginatively portrays the Grotto of Posillipo. Measuring over 2000 feet in length, this tunnel was carved from the volcanic rock by ancient Romans to connect Naples with Pozzuoli. While this passageway was improved by repaving and reinforcing the arches during the reign of Charles III of Naples (1734–59), this structure was never the grand tunnel Robert depicts with coffered vaults and engaged columns.

Object facts

• Title: The Colonnade of Saint Peter's, Rome, during the Conclave
• Date: c.1769
• Creator attribution: Hubert Robert (French, 1733–1808)
• Culture: France
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: Framed: 56 x 47.5 x 6 cm (22 1/16 x 18 11/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 42.6 x 33.4 cm (16 3/4 x 13 1/8 in.)
• Collection: P - French 18th Century
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1976.97.1

Collection credit

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 3. European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.