ANTWERP FINE ARTS MUSEUM REOPENS ITS DOORS
The Royal Museum for Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) is ready to welcome visitors again after being spruced up and expanding.
The building, which opened in 1890 has undergone a major transformation. Dikkie Scipio of the Dutch architecture firm Kaan built a new museum within the old one, thanks to four patios that had been unused space.
Thanks to this architectural feat, the prestigious art gallery has 40 percent more space to exhibit its impressive collection.
There’s a reason it calls itself ‘the treasure chamber of Antwerp’. The new and improved Royal gallery boasts collections of old and modern masters.
Belgian artists like James Ensor, René Magritte and Luc Tuymans find themselves in the company of Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Pieter Paul Rubens – a collection that’s certainly on par with the Louvre!
Speaking of which, the Antwerp institution has a painting that it wants people to see as its very own Mona Lisa: Jean Fouquet’s Madonna surrounded by seraphim and cherubim.
The KMSKA believes in this work of art so much that they’ve named their grand café, restaurant and bar ‘Madonna’. According to the chef, the dishes are inspired by works in the museum.
But they have more delicious goodies to offer: remember that James Ensor fellow? Fans are in luck, because the museum has the world’s biggest Ensor collection. They also have more paintings by the late Rik Wouters than anyone else.