A Dog of Flanders
A Dog of Flanders
The main character, Nello, lives happily with his grandfather and adopted dog Patrasche even though he is poor. Nello is talented and wants to be an artist. He does his best to finish his painting for the village art competition, but his luck turns when his grandfather dies and his work is not accepted.
His life then becomes desperate. One Christmas Eve, he goes to the cathedral with Patrasche and sees Rubens’s paintings, which are his favorite. The next morning people found a dead boy with his dog in front of the paintings.
This story is about poor people and compassion for animals. Even these days, it has a great number of readers.
This story is set in Antwerp, which is the second largest city in Belgium. There are lots of interesting places for sightseeing and for enjoying nature in Antwerp. For example, an antique train station in Marx square and a small village named Hoboken, but the most famous place is the Notre-dame cathedral, which is the main setting of this story.
There are some original Rubens paintings in the cathedral including “Elevation of the Cross” and “Descent From the Cross” that Nello had a strong desire to see.
