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New acquisitions on the seventh floor in the MAS

Jan Cox and Daniel von Weinberger

The permanent exhibition 'Life and Death. Gods and Mankind' shares ideas about life and death in different cultures and ideologies. New acquisitions by Jan Cox represent the secular humanism theme. The theme Judaism is given a new interpretation with an installation by Daniel von Weinberger.

Display of Power | About Prestige and Symbols

17.05.2011 - 18.02.2018

People have been fascinated by power for centuries. Why is power so seductive? What kind of prestige accompanies it? A highly topical theme in which – who knows? – you may find some personal relevance.

The success story of Irving Berlin

Among the two million Europeans who traveled to America on the Red Star Line was a five year old boy from Russia. The boy’s name was Israel ‘Izzy’ Beilin. He would grow up to gain world-wide fame as Irving Berlin with songs like 'White Christmas', 'Puttin' on the Ritz' and 'There's No Business Like Show Business'.

A bird’s eye view of Antwerp

Every district of Antwerp consists of a wonderful mix of historical buildings and modern architecture. To see all of this beauty you actually would need wings. But fortunately there are several places, both high up in the air and on the ground, to see as much as possible of the city.

MAS in Young Hands breaks out

In 2020, the MAS is taking a whole new course with its youth program "MAS in Young Hands". What must be stored in the MAS? According to young people, what is heritage and where do we find it in the city? With these and other questions, young people go to work online and offline and will inspire an artist in residence.

City at war. Antwerp, 1940-1945

What does it mean to live in an occupied city? What choices did city residents make: flee, cooperate with the occupier or resist? The expo shows the impact of WWII on Antwerp and its inhabitants. What would you do? You'll find out together with the guide.

Mystical Marriage of Christ

2 stained-glass windows

The MAS collection contains a number of beautiful stained-glass windows from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Two of the rare intact examples are listed as Flemish masterpieces: rather large stained-glass windows from around 1600 depicting the Mystical Marriage of Christ.

 

The Averbode altarpiece

In the centre of this altarpiece, those close to Christ are mourning his death, and above in miniature, we see Christ again, but alive and in the limbo of Hell. Below, each of the three women are depicting a virtue: Faith, Hope and Love. When the altarpiece is closed, you can see the tortured Christ being shown to the people on the left, and on the right, Jesus being offered a sweat cloth by Veronica.

A glimpse of the collection

FREE ENTRANCE | The MAS collection numbers almost 600,000 pieces. Part of it can be admired in the exhibitions, the rest is carefully stored in various depots. In the free accessible Visible Storage, you can take a peek behind the scenes. Varied and surprising partial presentations provide a constantly changing view of the collection. 

20 years 'Flemish Masterpieces Decree'

What is valuable must be protected. That is the logic of the Flemish Masterpieces Decree. Since the creation of this decree in 2003, just about 1,000 objects and collections have been recognised and protected as masterpieces. Through decree, the government also strengthens public collections by acquiring important masterpieces.