The city palace of Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens is partly reopening this weekend, allowing the Belgian city of Antwerp to show off the life and work of perhaps its most famous citizen.
The Rubens House may not have as many paintings as Madrid’s Prado Museum – which has the largest collection of the Flemish artist’s paintings – or Antwerp’s own Cathedral of Our Lady, which contains a significant number of his works. But if you want to see where he made a lot of the magic happen, a visit to the house is a must.
While the core of the house remains closed until at least 2030 for ongoing renovations, the dazzling new welcome centre and the redesigned garden will open their doors on September 6.
What it lacks in actual paintings – a self-portrait is the only major piece on view during the renovations – it hopes to make up in atmosphere, exuding the spirit of the master who bought the house in 1610 and made it his studio and workshop, which gave birth to many of his masterpieces.
The garden provides an outdoor space between the reception centre and the main house – a route for the visitor to move between past and present and to contemplate the world of Rubens.
