A work made of red chalk, with touches of orange chalk, with touches of pen and brown ink, on cream laid paper, incised with a compass, laid down on blue wove board.

The Nest Robber

1780s

Hubert Robert French, 1733-1808

France

Hubert Robert began drawing red chalk landscapes as a student in Italy and continued to do so throughout his life, drawing from nature and from his imagination. This charming drawing from his mature career offers a Rococo amorous theme favored by Robert’s predecessors Antoine Watteau and François Boucher—that of bird-catching. The inscription on the rock is from Virgil and translates to “So you not for yourselves build nests, O birds,” a call to be unselfish with one’s creations.

Red chalk, with touches of orange chalk, with touches of pen and brown ink, on cream laid paper, incised with a compass, laid down on blue wove board

Prints and Drawings