Ha Long Bay (Tonkin), the resting place of the French vessels Gironde and Nièvre

Gaston Roullet, naval and landscape painter, set out on August 20, 1885, and joined the staff of General de Courcy, who was the first owner of this painting. His exotic scenes are in the style of the orientalist movement and served the colonial mission by depicting strategic points.
This view of Ha Long Bay shows an immense and harsh landscape, with enormous rocks rising up between a heavy blue ocean and sky. The bright tones of the white sand illuminate crosses and small tumuli, representing the lives lost from the La Gironde and La Nièvre vessels, transforming the beach into a cemetery.