France - La Seyne-sur-Mer.; Auguste Morel - Explosion du Vaisseau "Le Magenta", Capitaine Galiber, en rade de Toulon dans la nuit du 31 Octobre - 1861-1880

The work captures the exact moment of the explosion at Santa Barbara (the ammunition depot). Half of the ship is engulfed by a violently orange and yellow flame that blasts debris, timber, and hull fragments into the air. The mainmast is wrapped in fire, while to the left a rescue vessel is visible and the surrounding sea is illuminated by the flashes of the disaster.

The caption reads: "The crew, on the orders of Vice Admiral Roze, had abandoned the vessel a few hours before the explosion... Six men perished in this horrific disaster." The text confirms the chronicle's accuracy: the timely evacuation prevented a massacre, leaving aboard only a handful of men in a desperate attempt to quench the flames before the fatal blast at 01:00.

There are patches of dampness and brownish oxidation scattered, concentrated almost exclusively on the broad outer white margins (particularly on the right side).