Antwerp museum of fine arts

Antwerp is a beautiful city that lies in Belgium. The capital of Antwerp is Flanders.

This city has been an important city in the nations of the Benelux. This was in regard to economy and culture way before the Spanish and the dutch. Antwerp is located on the sight side of the scheldt river.

According to local legends, a state in front of the town hall, a mythical giant called antigood . this giant would live under the bridge and he would take a toll from people who crossed the bridge. Those who refused to pay , would have their arms severed and thrown into the river scheldt.

Although, one day the giant was slain by a young man called Brabo. He cut off the giant’s hands and threw it into the river. Hence the city is known as Antwerp. Ant – for hand in Dutch and werp means throw.

In fact , hand cutting was quite prevalent in Europe at that time. Althought the most prevalent theory is that the name Antwerp is formed out of deposits from the inside of the river scheldt.

Peter Paul Reuben’s was a diplomat a court painter and along with all this he always was teacher to many well known artists.  He held his teachings in his luxury house in Antwerp.

He used to be very experimental with his art and paintings. And hence all of his shades look extremely vibrant. Most of his paintings were also very different. This artist was known as the holiest of holies and the entire museum of fine arts is devoted to him. There is a sixty six feet high dark gray backdrop wall which houses a lot of his paintings in the museum. The gallery is decorated with gold and has coffered ceilings. There are beautifully designed red like wine benches made in front of the gallery so that visitors could come here and sit and ponder over the paintings for many hours together. .

After Italy, Rueben’s came to Antwerp Belgium. Even today Antwerp remains and is known to be a very artistic city. Like most European museums, Antwerp’s collection of art is very directly related to the traditions of the artist painting the art.  At the end of the fourteenth century, many resident artists had a place that they could gather all their paintings and have them decorated by members of the gild of Saint Luke. Later on all these art pieces merged into the academy of fine arts.

Most of the art works were taken to France but later returned to Antwerp in eighteen fifteen. . Later the mayor of the city had arranged purchases of art which were so extensive that they needed an entire building to themselves.

A neo classical building which was developed by  Jan Jacob winters and frans van dijk was what was built for these paintings.

The whole museum was so seriously made that the atmosphere in the museum was made devotional and the façade was decorate with columns and medals and awards of many great artists.

Today, the exhibit has about three thousand three hundred paintings, four hundred sculptures and about three thousand six hundred drawings. The timelines of the drawings that are displayed here are from the fourteenth century right up to the twentieth century the paintings have a very Dutch- Flemish influence to them.

Simone martini has the award for the oldest painting that is exhibited here, dates around the thirteen hundreds. This painting depicts instances from the life of the Virgin Mary.

An astounding painting here is an amazing painting of the Virgin Mary with a snow white naked bosom. There are claims that this could have been a portrait of Agnes Sorel who was from the court of King Charles and also was his lover.

In the man with roman coin, memling represents singing of angels. Joachim bueckelaer has a lot of bourgeoisie paintings like the vegetable market.  Peter Rueben’s himself has about twenty one paintings that are on display here at the museum. The nineteenth and twentieth century painters have awesome work displayed here.  This museum has the best collection of Ensor paintings in the whole world.