Peerke Donders’ monument in Tilburg is ‘one of the most complex statues’ in the Netherlands. This is what Maria Grever, chairman of a committee that spent two years investigating controversial monuments in the country, says.
The statue of Peerke Donders in Tilburg has been under discussion for some time. In the Wilhelmina Park you can see how the missionary towers over a half-naked kneeling black man. With one hand the priest holds a crucifix aloft, the other hand rests on the head of the kneeling man.
According to Grever, Peerke Donders and his statue symbolize Catholic emancipation for many Brabanders. The clergyman has always spoken out with disgust about slavery, as the foundation also advocates Peter Donders Tilburg. But that cannot completely remove the dissatisfaction. The Black Lives Matter movement believes the image radiate white superiority. According to them, Peerke Donders looks down on the African man.
Apk for monuments
It is not only the statue in Tilburg that is causing resentment. There is also disagreement in other places in the Netherlands about statues depicting the past. Reason to see how things can be done differently, perhaps better. After two years, the research report is now available ‘Shaky pedestals’.
In it, the researchers call on municipalities to be better informed about the monuments in their city or village. A kind of annual MOT for monuments, say. “Municipalities often do not have an overview of what they have in their region,” says committee chair Maria Grever. “If you have an overview, you can better decide whether something should be added or removed. And you can evaluate regularly. Now there is always an ad hoc response to the latest graffiti.”
‘No offense’
In any case, the statue of Peerke Donders makes people think. Like Kenneth Stam who was bothered by the monument. “But I started investigating and it became clear to me that it was not meant in a bad way. The missionary blesses the man,” he says in an interview with the NOS.
“I thought, if I don’t understand the context, more people probably won’t understand it,” says Kenneth. That is why he placed an information sign that explains Peerke Donders’ story. “It would be a shame if people who do not have the right information get the wrong idea of the monument.”
Collective memory
This is in line with the researchers’ conclusions. According to committee chairman Grever, not only the person depicted is important, but also the visual language of the monument and how it can come across to people.
According to her, simply removing statues is not a solution: “Monuments are part of our collective memory,” says Grever. “It would be bad if you were no longer allowed to talk about it or demonstrate. But it would be even worse if you didn’t even know that that history took place.”
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