The Golden Compasses

The History of the House of Plantin-Moretus

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Chapter 14
The Plantin-Moretus Museum

In 1873 a rumour was circulating to the effect that foreign art-lovers had made Jonker Edward Moretus offers for his family treasures.^1. This caused great consternation among a group of people with a love of and concern for the national heritage who did not want to let these priceless relics of Antwerp's former splendour leave the country. Their spokesman, the Count of Flanders, who was chairman of the Royal Commission for the Exchange of Works of Art and Science, took immediate action and discussed with the Minister of the Interior the measures which the situation demanded.

The Minister judged it desirable that the building and its contents should be bought by the City of Antwerp with the financial support of the Belgian state. When Jonker Edward Moretus was sounded on the matter he expressed his approval. The Antwerp authorities, particularly the burgomaster Leopold de Wael, were more than enthusiastic. In 1874 valuers and experts were appointed. Edward Moretus was very moderate in his demands and was content to ask a price of 1,200,000 Belgian francs. The city was prepared to meet half of this sum and hoped that the state would find the rest. Everything pointed to a swift and smooth completion of the transaction.

Then bureaucracy began to make difficulties. One of the valuers appointed by the state arrived at a lower estimate for the paintings than those engaged by the city. This was enough to make the ministry decide that the

1. Concerning the purchase of the Plantin house by the City of Antwerp, see M. Sabbe, ‘Comment l'hôtel Plantin-Moretus devint musée public’ in Sept études publiées à l'occasion du 4^e centenaire de Christophe Plantin, 1920, pp. 9-14.

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other estimates were too high. Edward Moretus was angered by the insulting tone of the ministerial letters and refused to reconsider his price. The Antwerp authorities, convinced of his reasonableness, did not even make him any new offers.

The transaction seemed on the point of falling through when the Count of Flanders managed, at the last moment, to persuade the minister to change his attitude, or at least to modify it: the government would contribute 200,000 francs; Antwerp would have to find the remaining million.

This the city did and it was able to arrange credit terms with Jonker Moretus. On 10th August 1875 the city council voted unanimously in favour of the purchase, expressed its appreciation of the Count's efforts and praised the Jonker's love for his native town. On 20th April 1876 the deed transferring the Plantin house to the City of Antwerp was signed. The necessary adaptations and restorations were quickly carried out, so that by 19th August 1877 the Gulden Passer could be opened to the public as the Plantin-Moretus Museum.^1.

Emmanuel Rosseels, an Antwerp literary figure, was made technical director (until his retirement in 1902); Max Rooses was made curator. He held this office until a few months before his death on 15th July 1914. After 1902 he added Rosseels's former duties to his own.^2.

Max Rooses was a native of Antwerp. He was 37 when he left the Ghent athenaeum (a state grammar school) in 1876, where he had taught Dutch language and literature, and returned to his home town as curator of the new museum. He had already made a name for himself as a literary critic, and as an ardent, liberal Fleming, militant in the cause of his people and their language. He continued these activities, playing quite an important part in the political life of the city. But even before he returned to Antwerp he had felt himself drawn towards history and the history of art. With an amazing

1. For the development and extension of the Plantin house as a museum, cf. the catalogues quoted on p. 259, n. 1.

2. For Max Rooses, see E. de Bom's ‘Bibliographie van Max Rooses’ in Het Boek, 4, 1915, pp. 1-4, 97-112, 194, and ‘Max Rooses. In Memoriam (10 Februari 1839-15 Juli 1914)’ in Het Boek, 4, 1915, pp. 185-193; ‘Max Rooses herdacht’ in De Gulden Passer, 16-17, 1938-1939 (with contributions by H.F. Bouchery, J. Denucé, A.H. Cornette, E. de Bom, A.J.J. Delen, and the orations delivered at the funeral on 17th July 1914); L. Voet, ‘Max Rooses (1839-1914). Bij een verjaardag’ in Antwerpen, 10, 1964, pp. 75-81.

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energy and capacity for work, and with an erudition and breadth of intellect which made him Belgium's first great art historian, he launched himself upon the twofold task of illumining the lives of the masters of the Golden Compasses and studying the seventeenth-century painters of the Antwerp School. He achieved prodigious feats, publishing not only an impressive number of detailed studies and editions of source material, but also standard works on Christophe Plantin, Rubens, Jacob Jordaens and Van Dyck - and although whole libraries of books have since been written on these great figures from the artistic and cultural history of the Southern Netherlands, these works have not been superseded after all these years and still need to be consulted. Under Max Rooses's leadership, the old Plantin house became not only a world-renowned museum but, as in the days of Plantin and Balthasar I Moretus, an active centre of scholarly research.^1.

Rooses also attended to the extension of the collections. The particular character of the Plantinian house meant that only some of these were suitable for enlargement. Furniture, paintings and other art objects, manuscripts and typographical material had all to be regarded as integral parts of the former printing-press and family residence; as such these collections were virtually complete in themselves and it was not possible, or desirable, to add much to them. The library, however, was capable of enlargement and here Rooses established straight away the guide-lines of a policy which the Museum authorities have consistently followed ever since: the acquisition of missing Plantin and Moretus editions, and the extension of the collection of old (i.e. pre-1800) Antwerp impressions.

One of the later Moretuses was a devoted collector of graphic arts and his folios of prints were also acquired by the city at the transfer of 1876. Rooses, with his intense interest in art history, made this small section his special care and began his unremitting efforts to enlarge it. At the same time he thought that the City of Antwerp was under a moral obligation to buy drawings and prints by living Antwerp artists. He managed to obtain permission from the city fathers to make purchases and - more important - also suc-

1. For one particular aspect of the activities of the Museum, see L. Voet, ‘Het Museum Plantin-Moretus als centrum van bibliofilie’ in Antwerpen, 7, 1961, pp. 154-160; in French: ‘Le Musée Plantin-Moretus, centre de bibliophilie’ in Deuxième Congrès international de Bibliophilie. Actes et Documents, 1963, pp. 57-62.

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ceeded in extracting credit and subsidies from them and from other authorities and private donators. Together with the librarian F. Gittens he was able to bring about the establishment in 1905 of the ‘Bestendig Dotatiefonds voor Stadsbibliothcek en Museum Plantin-Moretus’ [Permanent Donation Fund for the Antwerp Municipal Library and the Plantin-Moretus Museum] which has contributed so much to the enrichment of the two institutions.^1. The collection of drawings and prints by Antwerp masters, old and new, became so large in course of time that it outgrew the Museum and had to be transferred to a separate building in 1936: the ‘Stedelijk Prentenkabinet’ (Municipal Gallery of Prints), specially set up for this purpose in a house at the corner of the Vrijdagmarkt, next door to the Museum.^2.

Max Rooses retired in 1914, a few months before his death. His deputy, Dr. Jan Denucé, succeeded him. Dr. Maurice Sabbe took over from Dr. Denucé after the 1914-18 war. Sabbe was a well-known Flemish literary figure who, like Rooses, had previously taught Dutch language and literature at a secondary school. He proved a sound historian and published many notable articles and books on Christophe Plantin - and particularly on the Moretuses, who had been rather neglected by his predecessor.^3.

It was during Sabbe's curatorship that the independant Prentenkabinet mentioned above was established, with A.J.J. Delen as its first curator,^4. followed in 1945 by Frank van den Wijngaert.^5. Maurice Sabbe died on

1. G. Schmook, ‘xl jaar Antwerps maecenaat’ in De Gulden Passer, 28, 1950, pp. 57-70.

2. F. van den Wijngaert, ‘Het Antwerpsch Prentenkabinet’ in De Gulden Passer, 14, 1936, pp. 138-144; A.J.J. Delen, Het Stedelijk Prentencabinet van Antwerpen, 1941.

3. R. Roemans, ‘Analytische bibliographie van en bibliographie over Prof. Dr. Maurits Sabbe’ in Verslagen en Mededeelingen der Koninklijke Vlaamsche Academie voor Taal- en Letterkunde, 1932, and Maurits Sabbe, de kunstenaar en de geleerde, no place or date of publication given [1933]; H.F. Bouchery, ‘Maurits Sabbe als conservator van het Museum Plantin-Moretus’ in De Gulden Passer, 16-17, 1938-1939, pp. 3-16, and ‘De tentoonstelling “Maurits Sabbe als conservator”’, ibid., pp. 17-20.

4. A.J.J. Delen became chief curator of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, in 1945. He died on 17th June 1960: L. Craeybeckx, ‘In Memoriam Ary Delen’ in Antwerpen, 6, 1960, pp. 104-105.

5. F. van den Wijngaert retired in September 1959 for health reasons. He died on 12th June 1962: G. Schmook, ‘Frank van den Wijngaert. Hulde aan een gezamenlijk ceuvre’ in Noordgouw, 1, 1961, pp. 1-5; L. Voet, ‘In memoriam Frank van den Wijngaert (1901-1962)’ in De Gulden Passer, 40, 1962, pp. 1-11 (with a bibliography of his work). Van den Wijngaert was succeeded at the Stedelijk Prentenkabinet by Miss I. Vertessen who unfortunately died already on 26th April 1962: G. Schmook, ‘In memoriam Irène Vertessen (Antwerpen: 25-2-1917 - 26-4-1962)’ in De Gulden Passer, 40, 1962, pp. 12-18 (with a bibliography of her work by Mrs. I. Vervliet).

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12th February 1938 and was succeeded by the assistant curator, Dr. Herman Bouchery.^1.

The Second World War broke out. Air raids on occupied Belgium by the Allies took place and in 1942 the Plantin-Moretus treasures, with collections from other museums, were taken to the castle of Lavaux-Sainte Anne near Namur. When the Allies landed in Normandy the evacuation of the castle was ordered. In the midst of all the chaos the art treasures were transported back to their respective towns but on 26th August 1944, near the bridge at Dinant, the column of vehicles was mistaken by Allied aircraft for a German troop convoy. Five people were killed and serious damage was done, but the Plantin-Moretus collections got off relatively lightly. Only a few books and the fine eighteenth-century clavicymbal were struck by bullets; the latter was damaged badly but not beyond repair.^2.

The worst, however, was yet to come. German flying bombs began to fall on Antwerp. The Museum treasures, dispersed at various storage places, survived the rest of the war unscathed, but not the Plantin house itself. On 2nd January 1945, at 10 o'clock at night, a V2 rocket hit the Vrijdagmarkt, causing great destruction over a wide area. Although only some 50 yards from the point of impact, the Museum remained standing. It suffered extensive damage, however, and in the bleak winter weather it had the forlorn look of all bombed buildings: windows shattered, beams and woodwork splintered and twisted, roofs and walls gashed. The front wall of the building was left practically intact as the wide windows there let the blast waves straight through. There was no such easy outlet at the back of the house and the blast wrenched the gable facing the courtyard out of its joints, leaving it leaning at an angle.^3.

1. H. Bouchery was made professor at Ghent University in 1946. He died on 11th April 1959. See G. Schmook, ‘In Memoriam Prof. Dr. Herman Bouchery, 2 januari 1912-11 april 1959’ in Antwerpen, 5, 1959, pp. 192-193, and ‘In Memoriam Prof. Dr. Herman Bouchery, 1912-1959’ in De Gulden Passer, 37, 1959, pp. 1-18 (with a bibliography of his work by Mrs. L. Vydt).

2. Concerning this event, see the second article by G. Schmook quoted in the preceding note.

3. F. van den Wijngaert devoted a chapter to the V2 incident in Glorie en nood van het Plantijnse huis, 1947. Cf. also his article ‘Het Museum Plantin-Moretus en de V-ramp op de Vrijdagmarkt te Antwerpen’ in Tété, 2, 1947, pp. 110-113.

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Under the direction of Dr. Herman Bouchery (appointed professor at Ghent University in 1946) and Frank van den Wijngaert (responsible for the running of the Plantin-Moretus Museum from 1946 until 1950), two men who had given sterling and untiring service all through the war and who now spared themselves just as little, the first repair works were begun. The actual rebuilding could not be started until 1947. This extremely delicate task was carried out with great care and precision by the appropriate city departments, under the leadership first of the architect A. de Mol, then of the chief architect A. Fivez and his assistant R. van Noten.^1. On 38th July 1951 the Plantin-Moretus Museum could at last be opened to the public again.

1. Concerning the rebuilding of the Museum, see A. de Mol, ‘Restauratie van het Museum Plantin-Moretus’ in Bulletin van de Koninklijke Commissie voor Monumenten en Landschappen, 1955, pp. 9-35. Cf. also L. Voet, ‘Het Museum Plantin-Moretus heropend’ in De Gulden Passer, 30, 1952, pp. 17-23.

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(104) The staff of the Plantin-Moretus Museum in 1902. The seated figures are Max Rooses (left) and Emmanuel Rosseels (right). Standing behind them is the assistant keeper G. Gilbert. The other men are doorkeepers and supervisors; their livery was inspired by sixteenth-century costume.

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(105) Poem addressed to Albertus F.H.F. Moretus by his foreman and journeymen, printed in 1828 (cf. p. 253).