Lot 246: The Destruction by Fire of the Church de la Campania, Santiago, Chile, on 8 December 1863

The Destruction by Fire of the Church de la Campania, Santiago, Chile, on 8 December 1863 oil on canvas 137 x 196cm (53 15/16 x 77 3/16in).

137x 196cm

Presented to the London Borough of Lambeth by John Cobeedick, Esq, 1914, according to frame label

The Property of the London Borough of Lambeth The following work is to be sold on behalf of the late Mayor of Lambeth, Councillor Mark Bennett, to raise funds for the restoration of works of art in the Town Hall and Lambeth's War Memorials in preparation for the Centenary of the First World War. The destruction of the Church de la Campania, a Jesuit church located in downtown Santiago, was the largest fire to ever affect the Chilean city. With around 100,000 inhabitants, it is believed that between 2,000 and 3,000 perished with entire families being lost. The clean up of bodies is reported to have taken ten days. Most, having been burnt beyond recognition, were placed in a mass grave. The fire broke out on the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception when the temple was adorned with candles, oil lamps and wall hangings. A flaw in the building's design meant that the doors opened inwards causing a large wind when pushed open. On this occasion, the wind was such that it knocked a candle off a podium, quickly setting fire to its surroundings. The side doors, also inward opening, had been closed to allow more people to fit inside the church and could not now be opened. This meant that the main entrance was the only exit. Unfortunately, a large group of women at the back of the church wearing large hoop skirts, as was the fashion, began to fall down in the panic and were quickly trampled by those behind. Very soon the entrance became blocked to both those trying to escape and those rescuers trying to enter by a wall of human bodies. The main tower, unlike the rest of the stone church, was made of wood and finally collapsed around three hours after the fire broke out. After the fire died down, and the bodies had been removed, the citizens of Santiago pulled down the remains of a church in order to plant a garden in its place. A statue was also erected in the place of the altar. This statue was later replaced and can still be seen in the garden today. The tragedy, exacerbated in part by the lack of an organized fire brigade, led Jose Luis Claro y Cruz to organise the first Volunteer Fireman's Corps later that year. In 2013 whilst excavating for a new metro line, workers discovered parts of the eastern foundation of the church which some Santiago citizens are trying to have preserved as a memorial.