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6
Bert Hermans
'On a Leash'
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm

Bert made this painting after a visit to Clémont (Cher, France) in October 2021. During this visit he took a trip to Bourges with friends and on the way he came across this dilapidated building near Presly. It is the former Catholic boarding school Angélus. Founded in 1920, the school served as both a boys' school and an orphanage and was run by the Oblates of the Sacred Heart. In July 2009 the building was given a new purpose and was reopened by the Institut du Bon Pasteur, which founded the second Angélus, a religious institution consisting of a private school, college and secondary school.
In 2017, the school was closed by order of the Ministry of Justice due to violence and fraud. The entire operation was prepared with the utmost discretion. To "take advantage of a surprise effect" and "avoid hiding evidence," in the words of a source close to the investigation. About sixty students were interviewed while the director, Father Régis Spinoza (46), was arrested.
The painting shows a pair of students on the left and on the right is Father Spinoza with a wild boar on a leash. The boar also refers to the fact that Bert and his friends were looking for game in the vicinity of Clémont that day.