Hora Est

by Bert Hermans · Gouda, NL

This painting shows the interior of the Remonstrant Church in Rotterdam also known as Arminius Church. This is a church building of the Remonstrant congregation, built in 1895-1897 in the center of Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The church, organ and consistory have been designated as a national monument. History The Arminius Church is named after the figurehead of the Remonstrants theologian Jacob Hermansz. van Oudewater, or Jacobus Arminius. The Remonstrants separated from the Reformed Church in 1610. The rest of the church was completed from the spring of 1896 to the spring of 1897. The church was inaugurated on May 23, 1897 and the organ was inaugurated on August 31, 1898. Architecture The church is designed in transitional architecture with Romanesque Revival elements. It is made of red brick and decorative elements of natural stone. On the north facade is the organ from 1898, built by organ builders Steenkuyl and Recourt. Below the pulpit with carvings. The church is lit by stained glass windows with a stylized floral pattern, designed by the glass painter L. de Contini. HORA EST The title of the painting "Hora est" (Latin, literally "it is time") refers to the exclamation with which the beadle indicates during a promotion that it is time to end the ceremony. Bert (depicted in the pulpit in the painting) obtained his doctorate in 1983 from the university in Nijmegen in The Netherlands. In 1991, Bert stood in this pulpit and spoke to his manager at the time, Prof. Mr. Wim van der Mijn at the presentation of a 'liber amicorum' on the occasion of his farewell to Erasmus University Rotterdam. Van der Mijn was also on Bert’s promotion committee in Nijmegen. The painting shows the doctoral committee on the right side of the balcony. To the left of the balcony is a pseudo-doctoral committee in which Bert also sat during the farewell to his former colleague Marleen at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.