Napoleons

Hubert Robert, an artist who specialized in paintings of ruins, was on the committees charged with deciding how to renovate the Grande Galerie. He painted at least nine potential versions, which are hard to date accurately. Here Robert took up De Wailly?s Serlian motif and retained the niches flanked by pilasters. This arrangement, which can still be seen today, was only executed in the early 19th century by Napoleon?s architects, Percier and Fontaine (the niches and pilasters were not installed until 1945). -- Proposed Renovation of the Grande Galerie-circa 1796-1798 ? Oil on canvas ? Department of Paintings, Musée du Louvre, Paris (RF 2050) — Part 6 Louvre