A tarp and scaffolding covering the spire of a cathedral in Rouen, France, that inspired the artist Claude Monet caught fire on Thursday, city officials said.
The cathedral, Notre-Dame de Rouen, about 70 miles northwest of Paris, was evacuated, and several dozen firefighters sent in to extinguish the blaze, local officials said. They said in the early afternoon that the fire had been contained and that damage appeared to be minimal.
The cathedral, whose construction began in the 12th century, is considered to be one of the finest Gothic churches in France.
“It’s not just a historical landmark,” said Kathryn Calley Galitz, an art historian and educator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York who specializes in European art. “It’s a living, breathing cathedral in the center of a very vibrant city.”
“It’s a marvel,” she added.
Monet painted the cathedral about 30 times in the early 1890s, according to the museum.
