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We've been in Belgium in September 2023 for ten very enjoyable and instructive days spent in Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of this country.

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Path: Photos > Photos > Antwerp Major Museums > Antwerp: the Plantin-Moretus Museum
Tags: Belgium  2023  News  Museum

Antwerp: the Plantin-Moretus Museum

 

(vero;2023-Nov-13)

If like us you love books, maps and everything related to them, this museum is for you. Christophe Plantin (1520-1589) was a model Renaissance man, an humanist with a flair for business. He started his own printing workshop at the age of 35 and his establishment eventually became the largest printing press in the world of the time. He ran his business as a family venture and it is no wonder that his son-in-law Jan Moretus (1543-1610) took over the firm after his death continuing along the same lines as the founder's ones.

The museum is located in their former residence and printing establishment and is a treasure trove for everything related to printing and publishing; old folios, first editions, atlantes and maps are on display and give an insight of the vibrant intellectual time of the Renaissance and the role of the Plantin-Moretus family in the propagation of knowledge. Watch this video for some background and a foretaste of this incredible place.

Click here for practical information on opening hours and prices of the museum. Note that this museum is closed on Mondays.

The inner courtyard and garden of the Plantin-Moretus mansion.
The walls are adorned with busts from prominent members of the Plantin-Moretus family. From left to right: Balthasar IV Moretus (6th generation, 1679-1730), Balthasar II Moretus (4th generation, 1615-1674), Jean-Jacques Moretus (6th generation, 1690-1757). The family motto hanging over a fireplace: Labore et Constantia (Labour and Perseverance). A compass is surrounded by a wreath, the inscription "Labore et Constantia" is written on a ribbon held by two figures: a farmer on the left impersonating Work and a woman holding a cross representing Perseverance. Portrait of Christophe Plantin (born ca.1520-1589), the founder of the dynasty painted by Peter Paul Rubens. Portraits on the wall are from members of the Plantin-Moretus family, all painted by Rubens. From right to left: Martine Plantin, second daughter of Christophe Plantin (1550-1616), Jan I Moretus married Martine Plantin (2nd generation) and became Christophe Plantin's son-in-law and successor (1543-1610), Adriana Gras (1514-1592) wife of Jacobus Moretus and mother of Jan I Moretus and finally Jacobus Moretus, her husband (he is also known under the name Moerentorf). Print featuring personifications of (from left to right): Harmony, Melody and Rhythm (copper engraving on paper) - ca.1589. Print showing Saint Cecilia, patroness of musicians, with angels playing the organ (copper engraving on paper) - 1586. Detail of a tapestry hanging in the museum (2nd half of the 16th century). The incredulity of Thomas after Peter Paul Rubens. The original (central panel of a triptych) can be seen in the KMSKA Museum in Antwerp. Detail of a painting representing the proof-reader Cornelis Kiel at work. Attributed to Pieter van der Borcht (1st half 17th century). This was the manager's office where he wrote letters and kept the books. The walls are covered by gold leather adorned with patterns in relief to which silver leaf and yellow varnish were applied. On the wall is a painting representing Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the well (anonymous, painted between 1650-1749). The dying Seneca by Peter Paul Rubens (1613-16). Justus Lipsius and his apprentices (17th century). Copy after original by Peter Paul Rubens kept in the Palazzo Pittt in Florence. Justus Lipsius (1547-1606) was one of the best-known humanists of his time and stayed at the Moretus house often. In this painting he is explaining a text to two of his pupils: Jan Woverius is to his left under a bust of Seneca and Philip Rubens is at his right with his brother, the painter Paul Rubens standing behind him; all four were close friends of Balthasar I Moretus. View of the printing room. It was the heart of the business: the type cases were stored on one side, and the printing presses on the other. It contains the two oldest surviving printing presses in the world, both more than 400 years old: maybe Plantin himself worked at them. The typesetters would take the lead letters out of the type cases on the other side and assemble them into a plate, which would then be placed into a press and inked. Around 2,500 pages were printed each day. Type cases with lead letters. Punches to print Greek letters (and others). Plantin did not only print books in Latin or Dutch, the firm also translated and printed into many languages. They were instrumental in the development of typography and produced their own punches to create new types. Terrestrial Globe by Didier Robert de Vaugondy (cartograph) and Guillaume Delahaye (engraver) from 1751. A print of a Latin text translated in two different languages and scripts. Thesaurus of the German language, edited in 1623 bearing the mark and motto of the Plantin press. Celestial globe by Arnold-Floris van Langeren (created between 1644-1675). Balthasar I Moretus and subsequent generations of the family collected books and had a private library with high shelves, lecterns and decorated with paintings, busts and globes. The painting on the wall is from Pieter Pauwel Thijs (a pupil of Anthony van Dijck) and was purchased by the Moretuses in 1757 for the altar in their home chapel. Terrestrial Globe by Arnold-Floris van Langeren (1645). Plantin printed also atlantes and maps. He printed among others in 1584 the first modern atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum created by the Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius (first edition was in 1570 published by Gilles Coppens de Diest at Antwerp). This picture is not from Ortelius' atlas though. One of the many manuscripts on display. Letter from the huge archive of the museum.

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Want to read more? Go back to Antwerp: the Snijders and Rockox House or go on to Antwerp: Museum of Fine Arts KMSKA or go up to Antwerp Major Museums

$updated from: Antwerp Major Museums.htxt Mon 04 Mar 2024 16:04:48 trvl2 (By Vero and Thomas Lauer)$