Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp

“Because the rooms on the first floor were empty, the St. Lucas Guild asked if they could use them as an ‘academy’.” Many painters and sculptors took lessons there and exhibited their work. “Even then there was a shortage of teachers, and classes were often canceled,” he smiles. “Because each artist had to donate a work to the guild, it was able to build a rich collection. When the guild was dissolved at the end of the 18th century, that large collection went to the Royal Academy.”

We learn that even Napoleon played a role in this at Mutsaardstraat. “Under his reign, the collection of the St. Lucas Guild moved to the friary, where a special ‘temple’ was built in the garden to display the artworks,” our guide explains.

“Now the entrance gate to the garden says ‘Academy’, but back then it said ‘Museum’. Through this gate, wealthy residents could visit the museum. It was only in the 19th century that the general public gained access. The collection mainly consisted of 16th and 17th-century works. Until 1840, when the Academy received a donation from the legacy of knight and former mayor Florent van Ertborn.”

On the building, the letters ‘PRESERVE’ are prominently displayed, but they were added later. The plaques on the wall are a tribute to two members of the Club of XII, a society that organized lectures on art for sixty years starting in 1871.

GVA - Gazet van Antwerpen