The is the former home and workshop of Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Purchased in 1610, Rubens had the Flemish townhouse renovated and extended on the basis of designs by Rubens himself. After the renovations, the house and its courtyard garden had the outlook of an Italian '' palazzo'', which reflected the artistic ideals of Rubens. The ensemble is now a museum dedicated mainly to the work of Rubens and his contemporaries.

Rubens's house during his lifetime

A year after marrying Isabella Brant in 1609, Rubens began construction of an Italian-style villa on the then-Vaartstraat (now the Wapper, 9–11), at the time located at the banks of the Herentalse Vaart canal. Rubens designed the building himself, based on studies of Italian Renaissance

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

architecture that also formed the basis of his '' Palazzi di Genova''. The layout included his home, studio, a monumental portico and an interior

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

. The courtyard opens into a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

garden that he also planned. In the adjacent studio, he and his students executed many of the works for which Rubens is famous. He had established a well-organised workshop that met the demands of his active studio, including large commissions from England, France, Spain and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and other locations. He relied on students and collaborators for much of the actual work. Rubens himself, however, guaranteed the quality and often finished paintings with his own hand. In a separate private studio he made drawings, portraits and small paintings without the assistance of his students and collaborators.

Rubens's house after his lifetime

Rubens spent most of his lifetime in this building. After his death, his wife Helena Fourment let the building to William Cavendish and his wife. After the latter left in 1660, the house was sold. At the Brussels International 1910 World's Fair there was a full-size reconstruction of the Rubens house, built by the architect Henri Blomme. The reconstruction was a romantic interpretation of what the building used to be, full of ornaments, but it promoted the idea to save the building. After his death in 1921, Blomme left a legacy to the city of Antwerp to buy the house.Rutger J. Tijs, ''P.P. Rubens en J. Jordaens, barok in eigen huis'', Stichting Mercators-Plantijn v.z.w., Antwerpen, 1983. This finally happened in 1937. The city bought the house in 1937 and after an extensive restoration the Rubenshuis was opened to the public in 1946. Dozens of paintings and artworks by Rubens and his contemporaries were installed in the rooms, as well as period furniture. Paintings include his early ''

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

'' (''c''. 1600) and a self portrait made when he was about fifty. The Rubenianum, a centre and archive dedicated to the study of Rubens, is in a building at the rear of the garden.

Collection

By Rubens

File:Peter Paul Rubens - Self-portrait - RH.S.180 - Rubenshuis (after restoration).jpg, ''Self-portrait'' File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Annunciation.jpg, ''Annunciation'' File:Rubens Painting Adam Eve.jpg, ''Adam and Eve'' File:Peter Paul Rubens - Portrait of the landscape painter Jan Wildens.jpg, ''Portrait of the landscape painter Jan Wildens'' File:Aartshertogin Isabella Rubens.jpg, ''Portrait of Isabella Clara Eugenia'' File:Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) De heilige Sebastiaan - Rubenshuis Antwerpen 27-09-2018.jpg, ''Saint Sebastian'' File:Peter Paul Rubens Massacre of the Innocents.jpg, ''Massacre of the Innocents'' exhibited at temporary exhibition File:Peter Paul Rubens - Portrait of Clara Serena Rubens, the artist's daughter.jpg, ''Clara Serena Rubens''

By others

File:Leyden-Rubenshuis-Noël.jpg, Aertgen van Leyden, ''Nativity'' File:Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Portrait of a Lady and her Daughter.png,

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

, ''Portrait of a Lady and her Daughter'' File:Adam van Noort - The preaching of St John the Baptist.jpg, Adam van Noort, ''The preaching of St John the Baptist'' File:Nicolaas Rockox by Otto van Veen.jpg, Otto van Veen, portrait of Nicolaas Rockox File:Neptunus en Amphitrite in de storm - Jordaens.jpg,

Jacob Jordaens Jacques (Jacob) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678Jacques Jordaens
in the Netherlands Institute for Ar ...

, ''Neptune and Amphitrite in the storm'' File:Jacob Jordaens - Moses and his Ethiopian wife Sephora.jpg, Jordaens, '' Moses and his Ethiopian wife Zipporah'' File:Venus en Mars - Frans Floris.jpg, Frans Floris, ''Venus and Mars'' File:Willem van Haecht - The Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest, 1628.jpg, Willem van Haecht, ''The Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest'' File:Boeckhorst peasants.jpg, Jan Boeckhorst and Frans Snyders, ''Peasants on the Way to the Market'' File:Antoon van Dyck (1599-1641) Zelfportret (vroeger Rubens) Rubenshuis Antwerpen 27-09-2018.jpg, Anthony van Dyck, ''Self-portrait'' File:Adam de Coster - De Verloochening van de H. Petrus - RH.LBI.2014.008 - Rubenshuis.jpg, Adam de Coster, ''The Denial of Saint Peter'' File:Adriaen Brouwer - Drinking peasant.jpg, Adriaen Brouwer, ''Drinking peasant'' File:Gonzales-Coques-St Agnes.jpg, Gonzales Coques, ''Saint Agnes'' File:Bonaventura Peeters - The battle at the Blokkersdijk of 1605.JPG, Bonaventura Peeters, ''The battle at the Blokkersdijk of 1605'' File:Jan Breughel I-Singerie.jpg, Jan Brueghel the Elder, ''Monkeys feasting''

Notes

External links

360°-panorama van de Rubenshuis
{{Authority control Museums in Antwerp Biographical museums in Belgium Houses in Belgium Historic house museums in Belgium Art museums and galleries in Antwerp Museums established in 1946 1946 establishments in Belgium Peter Paul Rubens Works by Peter Paul Rubens Museums devoted to one artist