A Hermit Praying in the Ruins of a Roman Temple Gm-00091801

Hubert Robert (French, 1733–1808) In the crumbling remains of a Roman temple, a monk prays at the foot of an altar. Absorbed in his devotions, he is unaware of three young women sneaking inside to steal flowers from a makeshift shrine. Above this trio, a woman on a ladder leans over a low wall and, with a long branch, taunts the praying hermit.

Placed on the stone altar are a crucifix, books, an open Bible, an hourglass, a skull, and a rosary. The skull and hourglass, common symbols of the temporality of man and his creations, suggest that the building itself represents fallen greatness. Hubert Robert emphasizes the ruins' immensity by contrasting the small figures with the structure's massive columns. In the left foreground, a column shrouded in darkness runs nearly the full height of the composition. Birds roosting in the upper reaches of the lofty barrel vault reinforce the impression of the monument's vast dimensions.

This small cabinet picture is one of several versions of the subject depicted by Robert beginning in the 1760s. In each of them, a monk prays beside a brick wall that has been built within the arcades of a Roman ruin. For this imaginary basilica, Robert likely drew inspiration from a contemporary print by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.

Our Cards are all printed on 100% cotton tree-free archival paper. All Cards include a recycled kraft envelope in a protective sleeve individually hand wrapped for you. Each card is printed one at a time and hand bound here in Lugano, Switzerland. We ship all over the world via SwissPost. Please allow 5-9 business days for us to make them and 5-7 business days for transit. Art Prints are printed on heavy matte finish German art paper using the finest Canon archival inks. Frame is black natural with a white mattboard and Acrylite glazing.

Wall Murals are printed on 42" matte finish, self-adhesive Kodak PhotoText fabric panels that combine and mount easily on a non textured wall surface. We can custom make to any size, just ask.

Stretched Canvas is stretched by hand over 1.5" thick pine bars and printed on cotton poly matte finish canvas. Each canvas is hand coated with Hahnemuhle UV/Archive coating, these are Swiss quality best in industry canvases.

All our images are digitized from the original negative, printed and assembled in Switzerland to museum standards by our master printer.

All of our products are popular and custom made by hand to order, please allow 2-4 weeks to make them and 1-2 weeks for shipment anywhere in the world.

Questions? Please email service@archivea.com

Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.