Rockoxhuis

Rockoxhuis Review

This was the splendid Renaissance home of Rubens's friend and patron Nicolaas Rockox (1560-1640), seven times mayor of Antwerp. A humanist and art collector, Rockox moved here in 1603. The art on display includes two of Rubens's works. One is Madonna en Kind (Madonna and Child), a delicate portrait of Rubens's first wife, Isabella, and their son, Nicolaas; the other is a sketch for the Kruisiging (Crucifixion). The collection also includes works by Van Dyck, Frans Snijders, Joachim Patinier, Jordaens, and David Teniers the Younger. The setting makes visiting this collection an exceptional experience. Rather than being displayed on museum walls, the paintings are shown in the context of an upper-class Baroque home, furnished in the style of the period. A documentary slide show in English describes Antwerp at that time.