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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.

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.

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.

Christ's entry into Brussels

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

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.

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.

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’.

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.