In 1875, a plan to establish a new district south of Antwerp was agreed by the city council. In 1878, a competition was set up to design a new Art Museum in the heart of this new neighborhood known as 't Zuid - the South. A few years earlier, the old museum, situated in the north of the city was destroyed by a fire. The competition ended up with a compromise whereby Jan Jacob Winders - an Antwerpian architect who also designed a number of statues in the city - would design the exterior, while the interior was to be designed by Hendrik Frans Van Dijk.
Built as a temple for the Arts between 1884 and 1890 - similar to museums in Munich and Dresden - the museum replaced an old Spanish Castle and was one of the main attractions of the Antwerp World Exposition in 1894.
The temple is adorned by 2 large copper statues depicting teams of horses and decorated with Corinthian columns. The statues were built in 1905 from a design by Thomas Vincotte. The museum originally had 4 open courts but they eventually had roofs built over them in the 1920s.
The museum is home to a vast collection of paintings from the 14th century and onwards.
Rubens, Van Dijck and Jordaens - Antwerp's most important painters - make up a very significant part of the museum's collection.
For hotels in Belgium, Global Hotels are delighted to offer the best selection and rates. Some area specific locations include: Hotels in Brugge and Hotels in Brussels. We hope you have a pleasant stay in Belgium and that you found our services useful. We look forward to welcoming you back to our sites soon.
Copyright @ Global Travel Solutions
[ Antwerp hotels in Antwerp] - [Site Map] - [
Secure
Server ] - [
Privacy
Policy ] - [
Disclaimer ]
|
