The first time I visited Antwerp was over a long hot summer weekend in 2015. The narrow cobbled streets of its historic centre were filled with people who crowded the outdoor tables at cafes and bars. The vibrant streets were matched by a multitude of fantastic art galleries and museums, not to mention the beautiful centre with a maze of streets dotted with medieval churches and mansions.
At the heart of this is the Grote Markt, lined with gabled buildings and the monumental Stadhuis. A few hundred metres away is the magnificent Onze Lieve Vrouwekathedraal, a Gothic masterpiece that boasts a set of four paintings by Pieter Paul Rubens. The streets radiating from the pulsating centre contain houses that are home to yet more medieval masterpieces.
You wouldn’t guess it from the buzzing and prosperous city of today, Antwerp’s Golden Age lasted less than a century – from the late 15th century to the middle of the 16th century. In that time though, this once relatively insignificant town blossomed into one of Europe’s most important cities with one of its busiest ports, trading goods across the world.
The port and trade defined Antwerp in that period, untold wealth was generated and led to an artistic and cultural flourishing. The religious wars of the late 16th century would bring the Golden Age to an abrupt end, but another period of cultural revival was just dawning. In 1587 the young Rubens returned to Antwerp after the death of his father. The timing was auspicious, peace broke out between Spain and the Netherlands.
Rubens’s was joined in Antwerp by other artistic superstars, Anthony van Dyck, who was his apprentice, Frans Snijders, Jan Brueghel and Pieter Brueghel. Works by all these artists can be found in the small but utterly superb Snijder-Rockoxhuis Museum. Formed from the 17th-century houses of Frans Snijders and Antwerp lawyer and mayor, Nicolaas Rockox (a patron of Rubens), it is one of the true gems of the city.
A handy audio-visual guide illuminates the lives of the former inhabitants as you pass by masterpieces hanging from the walls. The inner courtyard garden was just as fascinating, but the star of the show (for me) is Pieter Brueghel’s painting of traditional proverbs. Each scene in the painting illustrates the absurdity of human behaviour and various sins. It’s wonderful.
Not far from here on Vrijdagmarkt (it hosts a Friday market) is another gem, and UNESCO World Heritage site, the Museum Plantin-Moretus. Like the Snijder-Rockoxhuis, the exterior looks like an ‘ordinary’, if very old, medieval townhouse. The interior though is a cornucopia of history, art and literature. This large house has a splendid inner courtyard, and the rooms that surround it are packed with wonders.
Christophe Plantin, a bookbinder and printer from France, moved his family and his printing business, known as The Golden Compasses, into this house in 1576. They and their descendents would live here continuously for the next 300 years. Today, it has 638 priceless manuscripts, dating from 9th century to 18th century, 25,000 printed books, as well as the world’s oldest printing press and original type sets of letters and numbers.
Plantin became the largest publisher of scientific books in 17th century Europe. Antwerp ships delivered orders and shipped the finished goods to customers in cities across the continent, his printing presses painstakingly producing books in multiple languages, including Latin for bibles and other religious works. A walk through the well preserved museum is evocative of the lives and times of the family.
On display are manuscripts, including some hand written and illustrated that predate the printing press. There are paintings by Rubens, a family friend of Jan Moretus, a partner in the business who married one of Plantin’s daughters. Perhaps best of all though, are the original type sets. The Golden Compasses owned distinctive fonts, including Garamond, a font created by Claude Garamont. If you’re in Antwerp, this place is a must.
