Journey to the Island of Tenerife (1796)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Literature · Subcategory: Literary fragments · Year: 1796 · Authors: André-Pierre Ledru

The testimony of the French naturalist André-Pierre Ledru (Chantenay, 1761-Mans, 1825) is one of the most valuable left by the expedition members who visited Tenerife between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Ledru had a solid botanical education and was one of those moderate encyclopaedists who lived intensely through the political and cultural upheavals of an era of revolutions, empires and restorations. In October 1796 he embarked on a scientific expedition bound for the Antilles aboard the ship La Belle Angélique . A storm near the Azores caused significant damage to the vessel, so they headed to the Canaries, anchoring in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 6 November 1796. His stay on the island lasted more than four months, during which time he dedicated himself to writing about what he saw.

Regarding the city of Santa Cruz, Ledru made a detailed analysis of the place, focusing on the port, fortresses, squares and streets. Noteworthy is the description he made of the parish church of the Conception and the artworks he found inside during these months prior to Nelson's attack.

«[...] The parish church is enriched with gold vessels inlaid with gemstones, with an altar covered in embossed silver sheets and with twelve lamps of the same metal suspended from the vault. During the exercise of their functions, the clergy, which is numerous, wear magnificent vestments.

Why is the detestable custom of turning the temple of divinity into a cemetery preserved here? The floor of this church is nothing but a continuous series of graves, some covered with simple bricks and others with proud marbles.

All the paintings in this church, except two, are poor. The first depicts the Nativity of Jesus Christ during the night when the shepherds came to adore him. The artist took advantage of this circumstance to illuminate the background of the nativity. The light, which is reflected on the angels and shepherds, produces a good effect. This painting was executed by Juan de Miranda, a Canarian painter, in 1773. The second depicts the judgement of the souls in purgatory. Several condemned, with burnt bodies, loaded with chains and torn by snakes, raise their hands towards the sky occupied by saints who deliberate on the fate of these wretches. In the middle of the judges is seen Saint Michael holding a balance whose pans, unevenly suspended, each have a rolled paper. The magistrates composing this singular tribunal are bishops, priests and monks; among them there are neither fathers of families, nor farmers, nor poor people. Whatever its content, this painting, without author name and date, is appreciable for the colouring of the flesh and the expression of the faces.»

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