A biographical exploration of Antwerp's monumental churches

Step into these houses of prayer and follow his rise, from an eager and talented apprentice to a brilliant and versatile artist, learn how he developed his network in Antwerp and far beyond and find out more about the joyful and sad moments he experienced with his family. Come eye to eye with the breath-taking masterpieces Rubens painted to decorate these magnificent churches and the context in which they were created. These religious commissions served as propaganda for the Counter-Reformation, which was designed to restore Catholic faith, while also sealing Rubens’s reputation as a gifted artist.

Two tours

You can choose from two routes for this biographical tour:

• The Rubens’s rise route starts in St. Andrew’s Church, stops in the Cathedral of Our Lady and ends in St. Charles Borromeo’s Church.
• The Rubens’s prosperity route starts in St. Paul’s Church, stops in the Cathedral of Our Lady and ends in St. James’s Church.

Practical information

• Route Rubens’s rise : from 1 June – 31 October 2018, Monday to Saturday, departure at 2.00 p.m. (duration: 2 ½ hours). Start: main entrance St. Andrew’s Church, Waaistraat 5.
• Route Rubens’s prosperity : from 1 June – 31 October 2018, Monday to Sunday, departure at 2.00 p.m. (duration: 2 ½ hours). Start: St. Paul’s Church, gate building on the corner of Veemarkt and Zwartzustersstraat.

Attention: the route can be changed because of exceptional circumstances of a liturgical nature.