What happened to the sleeping child and his dog?
The Novella, a Christmas Story has, so far, received huge acclaim in Japan, Korea and the United States. However, the book “A dog of Flanders” was written in 1872 by an Englishwoman Marie Louise de la Ramée, alias Quida.
The story of the poor boy and his dog moved people in many countries and attracted many Japanese people in particular to Antwerp's Our Lady Cathedral. In it, they will admire the descent of Christ from the cross by Rubens. Because the little boy Nello often went there to see this painting. He finally died, along with his loyal dog, from the cold and starvation.
In Belgium, it took a century to discover that this story was highly acclaimed.
Then, of course, they incorporated it into Flemish tourism.
That is why, from 2016, a white marble sculpture of the sleeping boy Nello and his loyal dog Patrasche, shaped by Batist Vermeulen, will be on display near the Cathedral in the Glove Market.
