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Painted in 1945, the last year of the Second World War, this apocalyptic scene is dominated by bright red-orange colours. A huge fire seems to have broken out behind a row of ruined houses. Wooden beams hang crooked and threaten to collapse. Four figures stand defenceless against the inferno, seemingly transfixed by the gruesome spectacle.

At first glance, it seems natural to interpret the subject - similar to other ominous-looking paintings in Vlaminck's late work - as a symbol of the horrors of the Second World War. In the early 1940s, numerous photographs of destroyed houses and entire neighbourhoods in Nazi-occupied France circulated in the national press. However, the obvious destruction caused by the war, which may have led Vlaminck to choose this motif, contrasts with his positive attitude and closeness to the cultural policies of National Socialism. This example shows that the interpretation of a painting is not always unambiguous, but that sometimes very complex or even contradictory interpretations make it difficult to read a work of art.