Here Vincent depicts the fire that broke out on June 10, 1862, at the Smith paper mill on the Kabir Kouba River and spread to the church of Notre-Dame de la Jeune-Lorette. Thanks to the quick action of Abbé Prosper Vincent (the artist’s nephew, who was on holiday in the village) and several other citizens, most of the church furnishings and sacred objects were saved. Vincent uses no exaggeration to create drama or emotion; rather than documenting an event, his painting represents conditions of precariousness and irremediable loss.