Title: Demolition of the Château

Artist: Hubert Robert

Demolition of the Château of Meudon 1806 Hubert Robert French, 1733–1808 Oil on canvas Demolished entirely in 1803 following a century of neglect that included ransacking during the French Revolution (1789–99) and a fire in 1795, the château of Meudon is one of France’s great lost monuments. By depicting the simultaneous destruction of architectural features that were in fact lost over time, Robert inventively integrated the various phases of despoilment into a single image. At lower right, an artist holding paper and chalk, probably Robert himself, surveys this modern ruin that is both a reflection of historical reality and the product of his own imagination.