This masterful work by Hippolyte Lecomte, dated 1831, intensely depicts a crucial moment of the 1830 Revolution.
At the heart of a dynamic composition bathed in gunpowder smoke, a figure in a Polytechnic School uniform brandishes his sword, galvanizing the insurgents surrounding him. The tricolor flag flies above the fray, a powerful symbol of revolutionary ideals.
The artist excels in his representation of the organized chaos of insurrection. The dense crowd of combatants unfolds in an ascending movement across a barricade. In the foreground, victims’ bodies testify to the violence of the confrontation, while in the background, guards appear on a balcony in their characteristic uniforms.
Lecomte’s pictorial technique, with its marked contrasts between shadow and light, swirls of smoke, and palette dominated by ochres and reds, conveys the electric atmosphere of this day that marked the Parisian uprising and the end of the Second Restoration. This work not only captures a historic moment but also succeeds in transmitting the energy and dramatic tension of this pivotal moment in French history.
Further information
- Battle on Rue de Rohan, July 29, 1830, Hippolyte Lecomte, in 1831
- 45 x 61.5 cm
- Collections of the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris, Paris Musées (not currently exhibited)
- https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/musee-carnavalet/oeuvres/combat-de-la-rue-de-rohan-le-29-juillet-1830
Hippolyte Lecomte (1781-1857), a student of Jean-Baptiste Regnault and son-in-law of Carle Vernet, belongs to the great tradition of 19th-century history and battle painters. He specialized in military and historical scenes, developing particular expertise in representing uniforms and warfare action. This documentary precision, combined with an acute sense of movement, made him a privileged witness to the great hours of national history.
