Antoine Léon Morel-Fatio (Rouen, January 17, 1810 - Paris, March 2, 1871) was a French naval painter. Morel-Fatio travelled in Italy and Orient, learning painting. In 1830, he was with the French fleet during the Expédition d'Alger. He produced a corpus of drawings and paintings that earned him some success at the Salon in 1833. In 1836, Louis-Philippe ordered a painting illustrating the capture of Alger for the historical museum in Versaille.
On February 17, 1859, after forcing the river defences and destroying a series of forts and stockades along the Saigon river, the French and Spanish forces captured Saigon. French marine infantry stormed the enormous Citadel at Saigon, while Filipino troops under Spanish command threw back a Vietnamese counterattack. The allies were not strong enough to hold the citadel, and on March 8, 1859 blew it up and set fire to its rice magazines.
[Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon - Oil on canvas]