Fire in Normandy devastates two hundred works, including three from Louvre in storage at local museum

Heavy damage was sustained during a fire that broke out last July 18 at the Musée Maritime, located on the island of Tatihou (in the English Channel, a few hundred meters from the Normandy coast, opposite the town of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, of which it constitutes a hamlet). The fire, which was allegedly caused by lightning, did not result in personal injury but, according to authorities, destroyed or seriously damaged about two hundred works, of which three are paintings belonging to the Louvre in Paris, in storage at the Musée Maritime.

These would include a Sale of Fish by 19th-century painter Alexandre Casati, a 17th-century Dutch school Marina, and a Still Life with Fish by an anonymous 17th-century Dutch artist. These are paintings that have a value of around 15,000 euros. Altogether, the damage amounts to a figure close to one million euros (or more than half the value of the insured works, Tendance Ouest reports), but the problem is not so much the economic estimate, which matters relatively: the big issue is that the museum, which housed a collection consisting mostly of paintings with a maritime theme, has lost a large part of its collection. Apparently, one-third of the building’s surface area was burned: the institute’s storerooms were mainly affected (save, however, the spaces used to welcome the public, the island’s botanical garden and the Vauban Tower, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site). Tackling the flames required, reports Le Figaro, the intervention of 51 firefighters, who arrived on the scene in less than twenty-five minutes from the alert: the fire was totally extinguished within two and a half hours.

The daily Tendance Ouest also reports a detailed damage estimate: damaged were 12 prints out of 203, 24 drawings out of 38, 182 paintings out of 206. However, multi-year restoration work is looming for those works that can be salvaged. The museum was reopened to the public as early as July 19, and a thorough damage inventory is currently underway.

Pictured is the painting that was destroyed: Alexandre Casati, La vente du poisson - “The Sale of Fish” (1836; oil on canvas, 63.5 x 82.5 cm; Saint-Vaast-la Hougue, Musée de l’Île de Tatihou, on deposit from the Louvre)

Fire in Normandy devastates two hundred works, including three from Louvre in storage at local museum

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