Antwerp: (Brussels Morning) – The Rubens House in Antwerp is restoring Rubens’ original library to its historic location integrating it more closely with the museum to better showcase his intellectual and artistic influences.
The Rubens House is bringing back Peter Paul Rubens’ library to where he kept it in his later years. This move finishes a circle after four centuries. Rubens, a famous painter lived in Antwerp, Belgium and in his later life he stayed and worked at what is now called the Rubens House. Returning his library to its original spot honors his memory and keeps a link to his intellectual and artistic influences. This choice shows how important the Rubens House is as a place that preserves and displays the life and creations of one of history’s most famous artists.
What Changes are coming to the Rubens House Library?
The library at the Rubens House is changing a lot. They’re dropping the name Rubenianum because it’s hard to say and makes it seem like only for serious research. Now they want to make the library more part of the Rubens House with views from the garden. This change is to make it easier for visitors and researchers to connect and have a better experience. They hope this will get more people interested in Rubens’ legacy and art, making it a more integrated part of the Rubens House visit in Antwerp.
Rubens had a huge collection of books that he used for his art. His library has been mostly reconstructed so you can see it and study it here. He was known as a learned painter because he was curious about history, science, literature and art and he used that knowledge in his paintings. The library also has many books about Rubens and other Flemish artists from the 16th and 17th centuries filling about 2 kilometers of shelves. New things are added every day and they keep up with exhibitions about Flemish artists.
What is the significance of the recent acquisitions and expansions at the Rubens House in Antwerp?
Rubens’ collection is getting bigger with new additions. They bought a private collection with books that Rubens illustrated himself. Historian Anne-Marie Logan donated her archive of Rubens’ drawings after working on it for 55 years. There are 110 boxes of materials weighing 2,770 kilograms. Another donation was from Rubens expert Arnout Balis who passed away in 2021 leaving almost 14 meters of archive material. The Rubens House also got an archive on loan from the Rubens Castle in Elewit which used to be Rubens’ country house. It has 155 old documents and three newer ones.
At the Rubens House they’ve made it easy for visitors to access and interact with the library. The second floor has a reading room where anyone can walk in and pick a book from the shelves to read while enjoying the garden view. For researchers there’s a special area on the third floor for more focused study. They’ve separated spaces for casual visitors and scholars to cater to different needs. Books will also be placed on the first floor for all museum visitors to see connecting the art and the library resources to enhance everyone’s experience at the Rubens House in Antwerp.
