Search

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.

The Bible that never happened

Balthasar Moretus' Papal Bible

16.09.2014 -14.12.2014 | In 1620, Balthasar I Moretus came up with a plan to produce a new edition of the Biblia Regia. He wanted to outdo his grandfather by also adding the text of the Bible in Arabic. It would be the ultimate prestige project of the 17th century... but due to the ambiguous attitude of the Vatican it never came to fruition.

The anatomy dissected

Plantin as a publisher of medical work

24.04.2014 – 24.04.2016 | How much was already known about anatomy in the 16th and 17th centuries? Who bought anatomical books? How did Plantin publish medical works? The Anatomy Dissected offers answers to all these questions. Its starting point is the Vivae imagines corporis humani by the Spanish doctor Juan de Valverde, published by Christophe Plantin.

18th-century Neapolitan nativity scene

Every year during the Christmas period, the Museum displays a beautiful 18th-century Neapolitan nativity scene. It is a colourful theatrical spectacle featuring a large choir of angels, exotic figures and village and city dwellers.

The Magnificent Middle Ages

The Museum's finest manuscripts

02.02.2013 – 05.05.2013 | The Plantin-Moretus Museum exhibited its finest illuminated manuscripts from February to May 2013. These hand-written texts on parchment with their colourful initials and subtle marginal decoration are an absolute feast for the eyes.

The Soul of the Master

Antwerp drawings from Rubens to Panamarenko

15.09.2012 – 16.12.2012 | Eleven guest curators mounted this exhibition, including the likes of fashion designer Dries Van Noten, gallery owner Adriaan Raemdonck and curator Stefaan Hautekeete. They brought together drawings by old masters and contemporary work, creating surprising thematic links and spotting affinities of style, composition or line across the centuries.

Mercator: Travels into the Unknown

This exhibition focused on the fascinating interaction between the practice of travel in the 16th and 17th centuries and the development of cartography, with travel reports, books, letters, maps and atlases, instruments and prints. The exhibition also commemorated the five hundredth anniversary of cartographer Gerard Mercator (1512-1594).

Jan I Moretus and the Struggle over the Press

On 22 September 2010 it was exactly 400 years since the death of Jan I Moretus (or Jan Moerentorf) in 1610. This exhibition covered his twenty-year struggle over the press and used original archive records to show how Jan I Moretus held a steady course through stormy waters.

Following Columbus

Antwerp books and prints around the world

18.04.2009 - 19.07.2009 | This exhibition looked at the considerable influence of the Antwerp printing houses on printing and visual culture in the overseas territories up to the 18th century.

Hebraica Veritas. Did God Speak Hebrew?

Antwerp books and prints around the world

The study of Hebrew, books in that language and new translations were a booming business in the second half of the 16th century. Businessman Christophe Plantin took advantage of this new market and acquired Hebrew fonts which are today the oldest and most precious in the world.