Hubert ROBERT (Paris, 1733-1808) - Lot 36

Hubert ROBERT (Paris, 1733-1808) Tribute to Mercury Canvas. Monogrammed at the bottom of the column. 32.7 x 24.8 cm Provenance: sale Paris, Me Ader, May 25, 1951 collection Edouard Larcade - Galerie Charpentier. There is a pencil drawing for Mercure, recently sold. The sculpture of the Mercury is attributed to Jean de Bologne, and may be a version seized from the Duc de Brissac during the Revolution and installed in the middle of the grand gallery of the Museum Central des Arts in the Louvre in 1793, and still preserved today in the sculpture room in the Denon wing. The sculpture's pedestal bears the inscription "Il est sur le chemin de l'immortalité" ("He is on the road to immortality"), followed by the artist's monogram at the base of the foot. In the background, behind the trees, the top of the façade of the clock pavilion of the Palais de Louvre stands out.