Philipson’s paintings inspired by the interiors of Mexican churches concentrate on the structural form of the altar. The baroque shapes, influenced by the more elaborate Mexican churches further south, were dark with natural wood yet with flashes of brilliant colour. These paintings precede Philipson's more lavishly coloured cathedral interiors, but they served a purpose. They brought strong geometrical shapes into the artist’s work, allowing him to orchestrate his colour within a strict framework.