Rubenshuis

Not very far away from the diamond district lies a house symbol for the city of Antwerp known as the Rubenshuis.The city’s most prominent son is without a question the famous baroque painter of the 17th century Peter Paul Rubens. His palace-like house & studio, the place where he lived and worked from 1616 until his death in 1640 is now one of Antwerp’s most visited museums.

This property was bought by Rubens in 1610, after an 8 year long stay in Italy which influenced him a great deal, evident in his reconstruction of the house into an Italianesque Palazzo. The old-Flemish home was extended with a studio, a garden pavilion and a semi-circular sculpture museum with a dome.

A magnificent portico connected the existing house with the new studio as well as offering a beautiful view of the courtyard garden and the garden pavilion. Although most of Rubens works are dispersed in museums all over the world a great collection of his works can still be found here along with lots of works by his pupils and art & furniture of the 17th century. The Rubenhuis is unquestionably an absolute must see. More