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foto: Ans Brys foto: Ans Brys

What is there to see?

Discover the magic of the Museum. In mansion and printing press. In room and studio. In letters and typography. In beautiful books. Experience how, long before our digital age, words and images were spread around the world.

Expected in 2024

Prent van een gevleugelde doodskop die boven een aantal getekende figuren uitsteekt

Ensor's States of Imagination

    Saturday 28 September 2024 until Sunday 19 January 2025 from 10:00 to 17:00

How did Ensor make prints? What techniques did he use? In what ways did he experiment with this medium and from which old masters did he draw his inspiration? Find out the answers in this exhibition.

Welcome to Plantins house

In 1576, Plantin relocated his printing works to the Vrijdagmarkt. His family lived and worked there for three hundred years. They converted the ‘Gulden Passer’ (‘Golden Compasses’) into a beautiful mansion. The Moretus family cherished their printing works, which had become a part of Antwerp’s heritage. The last owner, Edward Moretus, sold the house to the City of Antwerp in 1876.

bezoekers bij het kunstkabinet

Meet Plantin and his family

Christophe Plantin and his son-in-law Jan Moretus were a revolutionary duo. They were the first printers on an industrial scale – the Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg of their day. Four hundred years later, you can simply drop in on them. Because their home and workplace are still there, as if they had just popped out to the bakery.

kopergravure van Europa door Abraham Ortelius

Discover the work of the Plantin printing office

In 1555, Christoffel Plantijn released his first book. In less than twenty years, Plantijn's publishing house has become the top in Europe.

Exhibitions

Rubenshuisbruiklenen

Five special pieces from the Rubens House on a visit

During an extensive renovation, the doors of the Rubens House remain closed. Fortunately, many works from the collection can be admired elsewhere. Five pieces are moving to Museum Plantin-Moretus. You can now view them there as part of the permanent exhibition. Martine Maris, Curator of the Rubens House, provides a taste of the five very diverse works.

Temporary exhibitions

The Museum’s temporary exhibitions focus on a succession of different themes. Specific aspects of the house, the Plantin-Moretus family, the output of the Officina Plantiniana... you can learn more about each of these subjects.

Online exhibitions

Exhibitions highlight a specific aspect of the collection. Below you will find an overview of the online exhibitions.

The collection

Dive into the collection

The Museum Plantin-Moretus presents three hundred years of book-printing art and family history. You can admire the oldest printing presses in the world and a rich collection of art, including portraits by Rubens. In the library, you will find manuscripts, incunabula and original prints. And the archives tell you about daily life in both the printing works and the mansion.

Always on. In the museum and online.

bezoekers aan het raam van de leeszaal

Calendar

Discover the magic of the Museum. In mansion and printing press. In room and studio. In letters and typography. In beautiful books. Experience how, long before our digital age, words and images were spread around the world. Here is an overview of our activities.

Visit the museum from home

The museum is always open online

We are always open if you go online. Go online with and dive into our collections, view our online exhibitions, take a virtual visit of the museum, browse through the museum guide, or listen to the audio guide. Everything to stay indoors and take your mind off things for a while.

Museum Plantin-Moretus

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