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Wednesday 22 March 2023 LOCAL
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Gothic Aruba Episode CXCVIII -198

Destination values, native heritage, and cultural iden- and Stations of the Cross for the old Ko-
tity are what Etnia Nativa advocates for as its own par- rvel church and statues of saints for the
ticular way of safeguarding all reasons to love Aruba. Maria “kerk”. Between 1878 and 1885,
Through this cultural blog, “Island-Insight,” we share he made four statues of saints for the
awareness, educate, and safeguard native heritage. Heikese church. In 1881, he created the
It is how we encourage you to experiment with an is- main altar in the Heuvelse Kerk and also
land-keeper state of mind during your stay. made seven altars for the cathedral
church of Bois le Duc, some hundred
During this episode, we want to encourage you to dis- statues and different works of art from
cover a gothic work of art that you can admire in the which have been preserved to this day.
Saint Anne Church located in the Noord district. The main altar of the church of Santa
The high altar of St Anne’s Church in Noord is an ex- Ana was awarded at the sacred art ex-
traordinary handiwork of Gothic Revival (aka: Victo- hibition held in Rome in 1870 during the
rian Gothic, Gothic Revival). An architectural move- First Vatican Council convened by Pope
ment that began in the late 1840s in England gained Pius IX and was located in the church of
momentum in the first half of the 19th century and ex- Scheveningen (near The Hague, in the
panded as increasingly serious and erudite admirers Netherlands) due to the majesty of its
of Gothic Revival styles sought the best craftsmen to style and design.
revive medieval Gothic architecture, with the intent to
complement or even replace the prevailing neoclassi- At the beginning of 1900, when the
cal styles at the time. church in Scheveningen was renovat-
The main altar of the Santa Ana church in Noord, which ed, the main altar, the communion rail,
dates back to 1870, is a magnificent example of this and the pulpit were donated to the mis- attention when visiting the Santa Ana
style. Together with the communion rail and the pul- sion in the Netherlands Antilles. Its initial church, which are the stained glass
pit, they make up an extraordinary work of art, carved destination was Willemstad in Curacao, windows, the work of the German artist
from oak, and are the work of the Brabant sculptor but when the ship that was bringing the Wilhem Derix de Kevelaar, dating from
Hendrik van der Geld. altar arrived in Aruba, they got the bad 1932, while those of the semicircular win-
news that at this time they were going dows were made by Heinrich Derix (the
Hendrik van der Geld (Elshout, 1838; Den Bosch, 1914) through some difficult days in Curacao son of the first) in 1965 and represent the
was a sculptor who studied at the Den Bosch and Ant- since there were many people sick with four Alto Vista –Noord district- prosecu-
werp art academies. Between 1870 and around 1910, diphtheria, so they decided to leave tors (episode 136, “Alto Vista history”)
he worked on the restoration of St. Jan in Den Bosch, this magnifique work of gothic art in Aru- and were cast by Johan B. Schmeitz.
for which he produced different altars, pulpits, a por- ba, reaching its destination in the Saint Leaving the church, you can see the
tal sculpture, and various statues of saints. His other Anna Church of Noord. priest’s house on the right, built in 1877,
works were often commissioned by the Bossche dio- Now, in addition to the main altar, there one of the oldest houses on the island
cese. In Tilburg, Van der Geld made statues of saints is something else that also captures the that is still in use.
Intrigued by Aruba`s origins and its cul-
tural heritage? Do something outside of
the tourist grid. Become one of the ex-
clusive visitors of Etnia Nativa, a private
residential encounter set up where you
will be able to touch and be touched
by authentic Aruba heritage, a spec-
tacle of native art, archaic as well as
archaeological artifacts, lithic tools, co-
lonial furniture, and other items of the
island’s bygone era. Get inside a recy-
cled environment full of peace, relax-
ation, knowledge, and information.

Etnia Nativa is, since 1994, the home of
Anthony, our acclaimed columnist, art-
ist craftsman, and island Piache, who
guides and lectures you through his
resplendent private collection. This na-
tive museum/home is the only place
that recreates and introduces you to an
authentic glimpse into Aruba’s cultural
heritage. Something completely differ-
ent for a change—a contemporary Na-
tive Aruba experience!
Appointment is required + 297 592 2702
or etnianativa03@gmail.com q