Gallery Edition – Notre Dame, le Soir by Auguste Louis Lepre – 54×44 Interior Architectural Study

Curatorial Narrative In the midst of the Industrial Revolution, Auguste Louis Lepre’s “Notre Dame, le Soir” (1890) stands as a testament to the era’s fascination with modernity and the intersection of technology and tradition. This Realist masterpiece captures the iconic cathedral at dusk, its Gothic spires piercing the darkening sky like skeletal fingers. Lepre’s linear brushwork imbues the composition with a sense of mechanical precision, underscoring the tension between the ancient edifice and the industrial landscape unfolding around it. The stark palette of black, white, and gray serves to heighten this contrast, casting the scene in a dramatic, almost cinematic light that underscores the artist’s interest in the interplay of light and shadow.When enlarged to 54×44 inches, “Notre Dame, le Soir” assumes an architectural scale that dramatically alters its spatial behavior. The linear brushwork now generates a rhythmic pulse that