Palazzo Rubens - The Master as Architect

Peter Paul Rubens (15771640) was an exceptionally versatile artist. Not only was he the most important painter of his time, but he was also involved in high-profile Antwerp building projects. The most famous is his own residence. In 1610 Rubens bought the house with additional land on the Wapper near the Meir, Antwerp's chicest street. It was thoroughly remodeled to his design and expanded to include a porch, a painter's studio, a semicircular sculpture gallery and a garden pavilion. In the new design, Rubens displayed his artistic ideals: classical antiquity and Italian art. The remodeled house was an absolute landmark, and Rubens' interventions gave it the appearance of a true palazzo.

Rubens found inspiration for his pursuits as an architect from great painter-architects such as Michelangelo and Giulio Romano, and from Italian architecture books. Rubens also published a book on architecture himself, seeking to provide modern examples such as those he had seen himself in Italy. He also shows himself to be a great connoisseur of ancient and contemporary architecture in many of his paintings. 

Palazzo Rubens. The Master as Architect displays some sixty books, prints and paintings. Paintings by the master himself were brought together for the first time with works by Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Anthony van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens, as well as precious architectural books from Ruben's library.