The beautiful statue of Nello and Patrasche that celebrates the bond between dog and owner is located in Belgium, in front of the Antwerp Cathedral.
Strolling through the streets of the Belgium you might come across a curious one sculpture that seems to come out of the pavement, a tribute by the artist Batist Vermeulen, known as "Tist", to the 1872 novel "A dog of Flanders".
The book became most famous in Japan, inspiring a famous anime produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha in 1992, and only later gained popularity in Flanders.
The protagonists are the orphan Nello and his affectionate dog Patrasche, tight in a sweet embrace while they sleep peacefully, right there, on the road to Antwerp, under the bell tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady, with the pavement as a blanket.
The sculpture was inaugurated in December 2016 and since then it has gained a lot of popularity all over the world, also because in addition to being beautiful, the story it is inspired by is truly heartbreaking.
A dog of Flanders: the story from which the statue takes its inspiration
The Dog of Flanders (A Dog of Flanders) is an 1872 short story written by Marie Louise Ramée, famous under the pseudonym Ouida. The plot revolves around the story of Nello, an orphan, and his old dog, Patrasche, and is set near Antwerp.
Nello lives with his grandfather who sells milk to support him. One day he comes across a beautiful wounded dog, takes care of it and decides to keep it with him calling it Patrasche. From that moment the dog enters their lives showing themselves loving and faithful.
Meanwhile the boy carries on his passion for painting, for which he is very gifted. He thus decides to participate in a drawing competition in the hope of earning some money and finally being able to see live the works of the great Rubens exhibited in the Cathedral, inaccessible if not for a fee. Unfortunately, he is beaten by a less talented but more prominent boy.
Bad luck haunts him and one day his grandfather dies in an accident, so he is forced to take refuge in the cathedral of Antwerp, after losing his home. Here, finally, he can admire his beloved Rubens. But the following morning he was found dead of cold, together with Patrasche.
This is why this sculpture was born right in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady, to allow Nello and Patrasche to rest eternally in front of the works of their beloved Rubens. Forever united by their indissoluble bond.
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