The Castaways
This work was created by Jean Lemonnier, at the request of Michel Le Leuch, President of the Musée des Thoniers, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bombard tragedy in 2008.
To create his work, the sculptor was inspired by a photo taken by a journalist who covered the drama in 1958.
This photo accompanied an article published in the Journal du Dimanche a few days after the event.
We see a procession of men bringing back the body of one of the shipwrecked men after the accident. The protagonists bear a double burden: that of the body of the victim they are carrying and the burden of the tragedy that has just occurred before their helpless eyes.
On Friday 13 August 2021, the Musée des Thoniers in Etel welcomed Jean Lemonnier, sculptor and official painter of the Navy, for the presentation of his work, "Les Naufragés". Originally made in terracotta, this sculpture was created by Jean Lemonnier at the request of Michel Le Leuch, President of the Musée des Thoniers, to commemorate, in 2008, the 50th anniversary of the Bombard tragedy and its heavy toll of nine deaths, including eight Etellois.
For the safety of the work, the museum asked the artist to make it in bronze, and six bronzes were cast at the Chapon art foundry in Bobigny (93), each one unique by its patina. Jean Lemonnier donated his rights to this work. Four of these bronzes have been purchased, allowing the financing of the museum's copy, and to offer the sixth to the artist.
This project was very dear to Michel Le Leuch, whose death in July 2021 left the museum without its president and founder.