Swiss painter Léopold Robert (1794–1835) is emblematic of the romantic myth of the artist with a tragic destiny. Educated in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts and in the studios of artists Jacques-Louis David and Edouard Girardet, he moved to Italy in 1818. With the substantial assistance of his brother and fellow artist Aurèle (1805–71), he created idealized depictions of Italian brigand life and gained recognition throughout Europe. Yet, his success as a painter did not save him from the deep melancholy that eventually led to his suicide in 1835, due also to his unrequited love for Princess Charlotte Bonaparte. Loved and praised by collectors and art critics of their time, the Robert brothers’ oeuvre gradually fell into oblivion after Léopold’s death and Aurèle’s subsequent return to Switzerland. This French language book, published to coincide with a dual exhibition at the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Neuchâtel and the Musée des beaux-arts in the Robert brothers’ native town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, pays tribute to their art and brings their great skill as painters back into focus. Based on a major research project at the University of Neuchâtel and the École du Louvre in Paris, it offers scholarly essays alongside some 170 color plates.
