Exhibition at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium until January 27, 2008
Apprenticed in Antwerp, Rubens spent eight years in Italy studying the Renaissance masters before returning home, where he quickly completed a remarkable series of paintings for Antwerp Cathedral. His fame spread far and wide and for the rest of his days, Rubens was inundated with work, receiving commissions from all over Europe.
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium own a stunning collection of around fifty works (oil sketches, cabinet paintings, altarpieces…) either painted by Rubens himself or in collaboration with the likes of Jan Brueghel the Elder and Cornelis de Vos.
Museum conservators and specialized researchers have spent the past four years subjecting each and every one of these works to thorough analysis. For the first time the results are now presented in an exhibition that puts these paintings in the context of their artistic genesis. Six sections, each devoted to a different aspect of the atelier, offer the visitor the perfect chance to discover the manner in which Rubens and his team set to work.
To give more depth to this exhibition, the museum has secured the loan of some 60 additional paintings and drawings, most of them by the hand of Rubens himself. These works come from some of the world’s most famous museums, such as the Louvre, the Prado and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, just to name a few.
This is a unique chance for visitors to discover Rubens’ creative genius on the basis of nearly 120 works.
Exhibition 14 09 2007 - 27 01 2008
Royal Museums of fine Arts of Belgium
Rue de la Régence 3
1000 Brussels
Information:
tel. : 32 (0)2 508 33 33
fax : 32 (0)2 508 32 32
Opening hours :
Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(ticket office closes at 4p.m.)
Closed on Mondays, November 1 2007 and 11 2007, December 25 2007, January 1 2008, January 10 2008
Entrance fees:
Adults: 9€
Seniors, Students, groups (>15 people): : 6,5€
School parties / pupil, handicapped, unemployed, teachers: 2,5€
Entrance free for the Friends of the Museums and children below 13 years with an adult
Audioguide (available for hire at the entrance): € 4
The tickets give access to the collections of the Museums of Fine Arts on the same day.
Ticket sale:
At the museum cash point
+32 (0)70 22 30 20 - adults
+32(0)2 508 33 33 - groups
Via internet : www.sherpa.be
B-excursions in all the Belgian railway stations
Du mercredi 21 au samedi 31 janvier le Jazz Festival Marni Flagey proposera au public des concerts d'artistes aux répertoires allant du jazz fusion au jazz moderne, en passant par le swing, le flamenco, la musique classique ou encore la musique contemporaine. 
