The Old Masters Museum is a must for anyone who is in Brussels. The collection has major works from the Flemish School, including paintings by Bruegel, Rubens and Van Dyck.
The Oldmasters Museum is part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels (Musées Royaux de Beaux-Art de Bruxelles). Founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801, the museum was originally named the Musée royal d'art ancien ("Royal Museum of Ancient Art").
The collection has been greatly enriched over time by multiple acquisitions and donations.
The collection, spanning works from the 15th to the 18th centuries, features drawings, sculptures and paintings by artists from the former Southern Netherlands, including Hieronymus Bosch, Lucas Cranach, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Rubens and Van Dyck. The museum also includes relevant works from the Italian and French schools.
Divento recommends…
If you are on a tight schedule and don’t have much time to dedicate to the museum, go straight to the Rubens Room, featuring 20 paintings by the Flemish master. Nobody should leave Brussels without seeing L’adoration des mages or La vierge à la Pervenche.