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Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Sébastien is a modest religious building located in Roubion, Alpes-Maritimes, built in the first half of the 16th century. It is distinguished by its unique vaulted nave in a broken cradle and its flat bedside. Ranked a historic monument in 1948, it was erected away from the village, on the road from Beuil, to serve as a spiritual bulwark against epidemics, especially the plague that was raging at the time. Its strategic location reflects its protective role for the local community.

The chapel's murals, made in 1513 by an anonymous travelling artist, are his main treasure. They illustrate, in a naive popular style, the life of St.Sebastien, the patroness invoked against the scourges. The side walls symbolically oppose the Vices and the Cavalcade of the Vertus. To the left of the Vertus panel, a kneeling priest holding a book is represented: he could act as Erige Lubonis (or Ludovic Serre), serving the chapel between 1513 and 1518, and the building's founding potential. These frescoes, morally and religiously inspired, bear witness to the beliefs and fears of the alpine population in the Middle Ages.

The building, owned by the commune of Roubion, is now protected for its artistic and architectural heritage. The paintings, though made in a modest style, offer a rare example of popular religious art in the southern Alps at the beginning of the Renaissance. Their theme, centered on the struggle between good and evil, is part of a medieval didactic tradition, while reflecting the health and spiritual concerns of an era marked by recurrent epidemics. Sources such as the works of Luc Thévenon or Paul Roque underline its importance in the study of primitive Niçois art.

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