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'.
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.
For the first retrospective of the oeuvre of Michaelina Wautier (1604-1689), Rubenshuis and the MAS are joining forces. The exhibition - a world premiere - demonstrates the exceptional talent of an artist who became great at a time when female artists were very rare. Her work is so multifaceted and unique that it defies all art historical imagination.
The MAS focuses on a piece of city history from the Second World War. In the pavilion, you can see where V-bombs fell on Antwerp and the scars they have left behind, by means of photographs, first-person testimonies and maps. You can even see a real V1-bomb from the MAS collection.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
26-02 to 30-08-2027 The exhibition explores what it means to live together and meet one another. What it means to be allowed to truly be yourself—in your own body, in your relationships with others, in public, and behind closed doors. An exhibition that shows how these themes, even today, are not publicly accepted or accessible for everyone.
