Interior of a Roman Palace

Hubert Robert

1760

chalk

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Romanticism 18th Century Interior

About this work

This sketch shows a dimly lit room with tall columns and arched doorways. Shadows stretch across the walls, and a few figures stand inside, barely visible. The paper has a textured look, like it’s been rubbed with chalk. The artist focused on light and dark to create depth, leaving some areas almost erased. This style was common in early sketches to study spaces before painting them. Next, look up chiaroscuro to see how artists use light and shadow like this.