Hubert Robert (Paris 1733-1808) Roman capriccio with a dove seller oil on canvas 72 x 60cm (28 3/8 x 23 5/8in). in a Louis XV carved frame Footnotes: Provenance Possibly Collection of the Marquis de Marigny, Minister of Fine Arts to Louis XV Collection Georges Wildenstein, Paris, 1920s Wakkonig Collection, Bilbao, Spain, from whom acquired by the present owner Joseph Baillio dates this work to Robert's early period in Rome around 1756/9. It may have been painted as one of the set of four Real Views of antique Rome, each incorporating a genre motif, which were presented by the artist to the Marquis de Marigny. Robert went to Rome as part of the retinue of the Marquis de Stainville, the son of his father's erstwhile employer, when the Marquis was appointed ambassador to the papal court of Benedict XIV. Stainville's sponsorship of the young artist was an invaluable endorsement and he was immediately given a place at the Académie de France to study under Natoire. He was a hard worker and his swift development caught the eye of Louis XV's Minister of the Fine Arts, the Marquis de Marigny, who gave him a place as an official pensionnaire in 1759. The present work shows the unmistakeable influence of the Académie's master of perspective, Gian Paolo Panini. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com