Landhuis Bloemhof is a plantation house, art gallery and museum in

Willemstad Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William I of the Netherlands, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdo ...

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. The house was built in 1735 as ''Landhuis Nooitgedacht''. During the 20th century, the house was owned by

May Henriquez May Henriquez (6 May 1915 – 15 October 1999) was a Curaçaoan writer and sculptress. Henriquez wrote and translated works in Papiamentu, the Portuguese-based creole languages, Portuguese-based creole language spoken in Curaçao. She was recognis ...

, a sculptress and writer, and became a meeting place for the art scene of Curaçao.

History

Landhuis Bloemhof was established in 1735 as a small plantation. It was mainly a water plantation which sold drinking water. On the premises, there are water wells, dams, an aqueduct, and several reservoirs. Until 1896,

laraha Laraha (''Citrus × aurantium'' subsp. ''currassuviencis''), or ''Curaçao orange'' (''Citrus aurantium'' var. ''currassuviencis''), is the name of a citrus tree that grows on the island of Curaçao, and also the fruit of this tree. The name is ...

, a

bitter orange Bitter orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the citrus tree ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'' and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is probably a cross bet ...

, was produced on the plantation. Laraha is one of the key ingredients for the

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

Blue Curaçao Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...

. In the early 20th century, the estate was owned by Max Frederic Henriquez who married May Henriquez in 1935. May Henriquez was interested in the arts. When the couple left for

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

for business, she enrolled in a sculpture course. In the house, she created a studio, and her estate turned into a meeting place for the art scene of Curaçao attracting artists like

Cola Debrot Nicolaas (Cola) Debrot (4 May 1902 – 3 December 1981) was a writer, lawyer, medical doctor and politician. Biography Debrot was born in Kralendijk, the son of a plantation owner. In 1904 he moved from Bonaire to Curaçao, and then when he was 1 ...

Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

and

Peter Struycken Peter Struycken (born 5 January 1939 in The Hague) is a Dutch artist, and the brother of actor Carel Struycken. He won the 2012 Heineken Prize for Arts from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of ...

. Henriquez became known as successful sculptress and author in

Papiamentu Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...

Henriquez died in 1999. Landhuis Bloemhof was turned into a museum and art gallery, and is dedicated to her memory. The studio is in its original condition. The estate contains a large art collection and an extensive library. On the premises there is a large garden, a bath house, and a literary café. In 2010, an open-air studio was opened for the Surinamese sculptress . In 2020, the Cathedral of Thorns was built in the garden by . It is a cathedral and maze constructed using 30 million thorn bushes, and was constructed over a five-year period.

References

External links

Official site
* {{Authority control Arts in Curaçao Buildings and structures in Willemstad Museums in Curaçao