Visit the Rubens house in Antwerp, the great Flemish master

Antwerp is not the only city in the world to feature Rubens. He was a great Flemish master who left behind no fewer than 10,000 works, paintings, tapestries, illustrations, drawings, etc. He was a complete artist of many talents. Today, we can say that the life of this legendary painter resembles a historical novel. Born in Germany in 1577, his parents, originally from Antwerp, fled the city because of religious and political unrest. It was only after the death of his father that the family found their way back to the port city. The young Rubens dreamed of training in the arts, but after a short period of study he was forced to stop for lack of funds. However, thanks to his mother, Rubens was able to benefit from artistic training. At the age of 23, he left for Italy to live and work. He became a painter at the court of the Duke of Mantua, discovering art, Venice, Rome and inspiration.

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In 1609 he returned to Antwerp to open his own workshop. He was immediately entrusted with a large number of important commissions. He surrounded himself with apprentices and assistants to help him in his work. Production was phenomenal. His clients included the nobility, the clergy and the bourgeoisie. But Rubens also played a political role on the European stage, acting as negotiator between Spain and England. He was commissioned to negotiate following the sudden death of his wife Isabella, and overwhelmed by sadness, he accepted. These diplomatic acts earned him two prestigious titles of nobility. Back in Belgium, now called "Sir Rubens married his 16-year-old niece at the age of 56. Together they had 5 children, Rubens already having 3 from his previous marriage with Isabelle. At the young age of 63, Rubens died in Antwerp on 30 May 1640 in his house on the Wapper. Today it is an emblematic place in the city.

Although Rubens' personality remains unclear, his contemporaries said that he was a charming man with excellent manners. Whatever the case, there is no denying that he was a brilliant man, Rubens knew how to do everything, and was the most highly-rated and best-known artist in Europe. He left behind thousands of works, many of which were produced in his house in Antwerp, which is now open to the public and has been transformed into a museum in his honour.

Rubens agreed to paint many portraits, but he said he was "instinctively more inclined towards large-scale works than small curiosities". His output was phenomenal, amounting to thousands of works painted in his beautiful Antwerp home. Construction of this building began in 1609, a year after his marriage to his wife Isabelle. A veritable urban palace of Italian inspiration, he designed the building himself. It houses his studio, of course, but also his main house, a beautiful inner courtyard and a superb Baroque garden that flourish under a monumental portico. His work is so extensive that he was unable to complete it all himself. He was, however, responsible for the quality of the paintings produced by his apprentices and collaborators.

It was only after his death that this magnificent urban palace was sold. However, the city of Antwerp waited until 1937 before acquiring the house. It was 9 years later, in 1946, that the Rubenshuis opened its doors to visitors. At the heart of this house, where a thousand stories were painted, we find "Adam and Eve" and his self-portrait on display. At the rear of the garden, there is a centre devoted to the study of Rubens. The house, which has been transformed into a museum, contains not only his works, but also those of his pupils and other works linked to the Flemish painter, such as portraits of his family, friends and other acquaintances. But the visit doesn't stop there. This urban palace is still a house, and you can still see all the rooms of a classic family home. The bedroom, kitchen, anteroom and dining room are all decorated with paintings by the artist.

To visit the Rubens House is to plunge into the heart of the splendid Renaissance period, when Rubens was the most fashionable painter of his time. Discover his life in the very heart of his family home and his studio, where his most famous works were created.