Strolling along the River Dilje on our way back to Hotel Klooster I noticed the side view of this rather striking statue. The statue caught my eye because it was set off by the neighboring tree trunk which to me presents a similar profile and this intrigued me.

When I moved round to the front of the statue I found the image disturbing but I did not know what it represented. After a bit of research when I returned home I found the following information:

Stone sculpture of a woman with a dying son in her arms, overlooked by a man.

The work is one of the lesser known images of Leuven. The statue commemorates a part of the resistance movement of Leuven during World War II. The initiative came from the National Royalist Movement Leuven (NKB), and it was inaugurated on 4 October 1959. The creator Willem De Backer from Berg. He was a teacher at the Academy of Louvain between 1942 and 1970. Hence, the location of the image.

Now I know the context I think that the monument presents a powerful image. I would be interested to know your thoughts…