Museum Plantin-Moretus

On Saturday 17 December AG DUTCH & FLEMISH paid a visit to Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp, the original residence and workshop of the Plantin and Moretus publishing dynasty and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We were very warmly welcomed by curator of prints Marijke Hellemans and director Iris Kockelbergh. After they had talked us through the renovation process of the museum, we were escorted to the beautiful new study room for prints and drawings. There, a display with highlights from the collection awaited us, especially put together for the afternoon. The display included fantastic drawings by Rubens, Van Dijck and Jordaens, but also woodcuts by Hans I Liefrinck and after Pieter Coecke van Aelst.

The Print Room of the Museum Plantin-Moretus has a rich collection of old drawings and prints from Antwerp masters from the 16th to the 18th century. In addition, Antwerp’s most important artists are represented in the modern and contemporary collections of works on paper. The collection of prints and drawings originated from the collection of the Museum Plantin-Moretus and the private collection of its first curator, Max Rooses, but still grows every year.

We would like to thank Marijke, Iris and their colleagues for a very interesting afternoon. We all agreed that the new study room, is a great place for study. And we highly recommend all AG members to pay a visit to the wonderful Museum Plantin-Moretus!