The remarkable collection of ancient art, a witness to a rich past, covers a period ranging from the 15th to the 18th century.

The painting of the old Southern Netherlands forms the core of this collection, with masterpieces from the 15th century by Rogier van der Weyden, Petrus Christus, Dirk Bouts, Hans Memling, Jérôme Bosch, and Gerard David. For the 16th century, Pieter Bruegel the Elder is beautifully represented, with major works such as The Fall of the Rebel Angels and The Census at Bethlehem. Finally, the Flemish school from the 15th to the 18th centuries is represented by Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Jacob Jordaens. The French and Italian schools are represented by Simon Vouet, Philippe de Champaigne, Claude Lorrain, Jusepe de Ribera, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and more.

New: Take a virtual walk through the Bruegel room of the museum! Thanks to the 3D scanning of the room, navigate 360° with or without a virtual reality headset. Approach the works, access images available in gigapixels, or watch videos in which specialists share their knowledge about Pieter Bruegel the Elder and his work.

Its origins date back to the French Revolution when many artworks were seized by the occupant, especially in religious establishments.

The Museum was founded in 1801 by Bonaparte, but it was in 1830, with the Independence of Belgium, that it truly flourished. In 1914, with the Grez donation, the collection was enriched with over 4,000 paper works dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries (Hendrick Goltzius, Jacques de Gheyn the Younger, Rembrandt...).

Photo Credits: 

Brussels, photo by Ilan Weiss & Daniel Piaggio - Peter Paul Rubens, The Assumption

Forum - Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Copyright Odile Keromnes

Forum - Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels

Pieter I Bruegel, Fall of the Rebel Angels (1562), Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium - Old Masters Museum, Brussels, photo by Grafisch Buro Lefevre, Heule

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium – Old Masters Museum, Brussels - tablet Bruegel © VISIT FLANDERS.jpg