Highlights

At the Museum Plantin-Moretus, you will discover more than just the world’s oldest printing presses. Portraits by Peter Paul Rubens adorn the walls, and the finest furniture embellishes the historic residence. Discover which highlights you should not miss.

Discover the highlights from our collections

The world's two oldest printing presses

Printing led to a huge increase in the speed of communication. The two oldest printing presses in the world bear witness to this process. They were built around 1650, and can be admired in the Museum Plantin-Moretus, nearly four centuries later.

©Victoriano Moreno

The first atlas - Abraham Ortelius

The Theatrum Orbis Terrarum is the world’s very first atlas. Antwerp native Abraham Ortelius created this masterpiece using the finest sea and land maps. The first edition of this pioneering atlas was published in 1570.

The first Dutch dictionary - Cornelis Kiliaan

The first Dutch dictionary was printed in Plantijns printing office.

Illustrated flowers of nature - Rembert Dodoens

Rembert Dodoens published his Cruydtboeck with Plantin. In the 16th century, it was the most translated book after the Bible.

The dying Seneca - Peter Paul Rubens

As a humanist, Balthasar I Moretus was a great admirer of Seneca. He commissioned a painting by Rubens of the Roman rhetorician. The suspicious emperor Nero compelled Seneca to commit suicide in 65 AD.

©Filip Dujardin

The royal Bible in five languages - Arias Montanus

Plantins absolute masterpiece: a Bible consisting of eight parts in five languages.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Counting with decimal numbers - Simon Stevin

The basis for the US dollar is found in Simon Stevin's book 'de Thiende'.

Rosewood curio cabinet

The museum has a rich collection of antique furniture. The rosewood and ebony curio cabinet definitely belonged to the Moretus family. The cabinet is supported by four Moors – a learned allusion to the name Moretus.

Twelve meter long funeral procession of emperor Charles V

A magnifique funeral procession in honour of Charles V, printed on a roll.

Hendrik van den Keere (1540-1580), Grande musicque

Printing was also a revolutionary development in the world of music. The Ghent type founder Hendrik van den Keere supplied Christophe Plantin with 44 sets of punches and matrices. Plantin used the ‘Grande Musicque’ type set to print choral music.

©Victoriano Moreno

An Italian view of the Netherlands - Lodovico Guicciardini

A reference work about the Netherlands, richly illustrated and full of maps.

The 36-line Gutenberg Bible

The 36-line Bible is a monument in the history of printing. The Augustinian monastery of Nuremberg donated this copy in 1514 to its new sister institution in Antwerp. When that monastery was closed in 1522 because of Lutheran sympathies, the Bible was put on the market. Nobody knows how it then ended up in Plantin’s library.

© Plantin-Moretus Museum

Latin classics - Justus Lipsius

Plantin convinces top humanist Justus Lipsius to print his Latin classics like Tacitus and Seneca at his printing office.

Brussels tapestries

On these Brussels tapestries you follow the story of Tomyris. This queen from the north of Iran took on Cyrus. And won. The courageous queen of a small people defeated the great Persian king.

Portrait of Christophe Plantin

Peter Paul Rubens was a family friend to Balthasar I Moretus, who commissioned portraits of the Plantin-Moretus family from the baroque painter.

Portrait of Jan I Moretus

Balthasar I Moretus commissioned this portrait of his father, Jan Moretus, from Rubens. It belongs to the first series of 12 works that Balthasar I Moretus commissioned from his childhood friend.

Beached fin whale at Egmond

Slechts twee strandingen van gewone vinvissen werden gedocumenteerd in de 16de eeuw. Dit is er eentje van. Deze bijzondere tekening is dan ook met recht en rede erkend als Vlaams topstuk.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Gemma Tiberiana - Peter Paul Rubens

This drawing by Peter Paul Rubens depicts the Gemma Tiberiana, the largest cameo - a relief-carved stone - preserved from Antiquity. The drawing is recognized as a Flemish Top Masterpiece.

Hercules and the Nemean lion - Peter Paul Rubens

Rubens had a soft spot for the ancient hero Hercules. In his attempt to find the ideal posture, Rubens gave Hercules three right and two left legs.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Christ carrying the cross - Anthony Van Dyck

Anthony Van Dyck’s work is also represented in the Print Cabinet’s collection. This drawing of Christ Carrying the Cross is a preparatory study for his painting of the same name that is kept in St Paul’s Church, Antwerp. In it, Van Dyck demonstrates his mastery of dynamism.

Odysseus' ship stocked with provisions by Calypso

Jacob Jordaens was a gifted draughtsman and painter. Here he shows seven servants carrying supplies aboard Odysseus’ ship, under the gaze of the lovelorn nymph Calypso.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Allegory for Abraham Ortelius

This superb little drawing on parchment was done by Joris Hoefnagel in 1593 to commemorate his friendship with the cartographer and geographer Abraham Ortelius, as the inscriptions below inform us.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

View of the city with poultry market

Filips Galle was one of the most important Antwerp print publishers of the 16th century. This print shows an everyday scene with a number of market stalls at which citizens are inspecting and buying poultry.

The knight, Death and the Devil

Jan Wierix was barely 15 years old when he made this engraving. It is an extremely detailed copy of The Knight, Death and the Devil, a work by Dürer. It was common practice to copy masters in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Breakfast, Rik Wouters

His wife Nel was a lifelong muse to Rik Wouters. Here, he draws her at the breakfast table.

Submarine, Panamarenko

As well as creating poetical installations, Panamarenko also makes prints of his structures. This print is a study of the submarine Panama, in which Panamarenko planned to sail to Nova Zembla.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Christ's entry into Brussels

This etching is inspired by the famous painting by James Ensor (1860-1949) with the same title from 1888.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Me voilà

Adriaan Raemdonck of Antwerp’s Gallerie De Zwarte Panter donated 23 copperplate engravings to the Print Cabinet in 2003. They were all by artist Jan Cox, and included 'Me voilà'. The etching 'Me voilà, Boston' was printed from this engraving in 1963.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Antverpia, Joris Hoefnagel

Joris Hoefnagel drew a beautifully detailed map of the city of Antwerp and the citadel, showing the city from a bird’s eye perspective. The cityscape and the main landmarks can be spotted on it. The print was published in the book Civitates Orbis Terrarum, published in the period from 1572 to 1616.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Théâtre d’Anvers, Antoine Dewasme-Plettinckx

Antoine Dewasme-Plettinckx was a well-known Brussels lithographer from the first half of the 19th century. Here he shows the Bourla Theatre in its early years, when it was still called the ‘Théâtre Royal Français’.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Antwerp's annual procession: the Jaerelycksen Ommoeganck van Antwerpen

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the streets of Antwerp thronged with parades and processions. On the occasion of the Ommegang pageant in 1685, the Antwerp printer Hieronymus Verdussen the Younger published this print by Gaspar Bouttats together with an accompanying text.

Sketchbook young Rubens from the Plantin-Moretus Museum collection recognised as a masterpiece

The Flemish Government has placed no less than 194 drawings from the Prints room collection of the Plantin-Moretus Museum on the Masterpiece List. The best of the examples is a sketchbook with 43 drawings made by Peter Paul Rubens when he was 12-13 years old.

Rubens, design of printer's mark

As well as painting for Balthasar I Moretus, Rubens also designed printer’s marks. This design was used for the title page of the second volume of the Opera omnia, (collected works) of the humanist Justus Lipsius.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Octo missae

The Octo missae contains eight Mass settings by the Antwerp composer Georges de la Hèle. This monumental work was the first musical work to be printed by the Officina Plantiniana, in 1578.

©Museum Plantin-Moretus

Gerard Mercator, map of Flanders

The geographer Gerard Mercator revolutionised cartography. This map is a surprisingly accurate representation of the county of Flanders in 1540.

©Plantin-Moretus Museum

Carmen Paschale by Sedulius (860 AD)

The oldest manuscript in the Museum Plantin-Moretus is a 9th-century gem by the author Caulius Sedulius. This manuscript was created in around 860 in a Liège scriptorium. Christophe Plantin inherited it in 1581.

More collection & research

Digital services

If you have a simple research question, we will try to help you as much as possible by email.

Research

The Museum Plantin-Moretus conserves a varied collection. The online catalogues hold a large portion of our collections: printing plates, presses, mould, stamps, furniture, prints and drawings, paintings ...

Reading room

In our reading room you can consult numerous authentic documents. You will find a precious archive of printed works, manuscripts and drawings.