Hyppolyte Sebron

HYPPOLYTE SEBRON (France, 1801-1879).
"Interior of a basilica", 1839.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 100 x 80 cm; 110 x 91 cm (frame).

In this interior of gothic church Hyppolyte Sebron combines the conscientious study of the architectural details with the flavor of sacred print. It was typical of this pictorial genre of ecclesiastical interiors to reproduce real temples, but he also allowed himself certain liberties for aesthetic purposes. Magnificent gothic ribs culminate a space defined by a wide staircase with iron balustrade, by which the religious descend slowly. The lighting is balanced, alternating areas of half-light and lighter areas, favoring a rhythmic play that accentuates the naturalistic sensation of the space. This careful atmospheric study confers to the image, in conjunction with the careful detail and the meticulous brushstroke, realism and monumentality in the scene. Some elements of the construction, such as the floor slabs, the pilasters and columns, the architraves and the ribs of the vault, are repeated from the foreground to the back of the stage, gradually decreasing in size and losing chromatic intensity. Ultimately, the faithful pray at the foot of a baroque chapel.

Hippolyte Sebron was a leading French academic painter and key collaborator of Louis Daguerre, whose stay in Louisiana between 1849 and 1855 transformed regional landscape painting through a refined technique and masterful use of lighting effects. He also focused his painting on the realization of church interiors. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Sebron was noted for his ability to execute monumental and precise canvases, such as his famous views of the Mississippi and Niagara Falls, which functioned as visual chronicles of American expansion. His legacy lies in having been one of the first to capture the distinctive atmosphere of the Louisiana swamps and to introduce the sophistication of large European formats and dramatic chiaroscuro into American art, decisively influencing subsequent generations of local landscape painters before his ultimate return to France.