Stay updated about the KMSKA revamp.
Let the revamp begin
1 December 2011
Today the renovation of the museum has kicked off with the fencing of the construction site. During the first few days of renovation the contractor in charge of phase 1 will not only dedicate his time on the fencing. He will also remove parts of the original museum fence - to enable construction vehicles to drive in and out of the construction site - and he will install a construction shed. After that he will start working in the building.
An (almost) empty museum
7 September 2011
The long-awaited renovation of the KMSKA building commences in the autumn of 2011. Many collection pieces have already been moved, either to other museums, as loans for exhibitions, or to an external depot. Some will remain in the museum, safeley stored in a brand-new depot. As a result the museum rooms look a bit emptier every day. The photoreport underneath gives you an idea of what that looks like.
You can also watch these images on the museum's
Flickr-page.
Nico Van Hout on the closure of the museum
1 September 2011
In the movie below, curator Nico Van Hout guides you through the (almost) empty museum rooms while the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp is preparing for a major renovation.
Movie: Thom Vander Beken - Subtitles in English
A Collection on the move
22 July 2011
In less than two months time the renovation of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp will commence, turning the museum building into a major construction site until the fall of 2017. But first the artworks that are still inside the museum have to move to other museums and external depots. The movie below shows you how members of the museum staff are preparing the paintings for their exodus.
Movie: Thom Vander Beken - Subtitles in English
Rubens gets turned around
20 July 2011
While the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp is preparing for its renovation, the scientists of the museum’s Rubens research are working on full speed. Today, three monumental paintings by Peter Paul Rubens - the Adoration of the Magi, the Last Communion of Francis of Assisi and the Coup de Lance - were detached from the wall and turned around. The Rubens researchers will use the time that is left before the start of the renovation in September to conduct a material study on the rear side of the paintings. Because they are too large to move, the paintings will stay in the museum during the renovation, safely stored in a brand-new depot. Henceforth, they will not be accessible – even to the museum staff – until 2017.
The photoreport underneath shows art handlers detaching the paintings and turning them around. You can also watch these images on the museum's Flickr-page.
Would you like to see the paintings as they were? You can virtually visit the museum’s Rubens room using our website.
How to move a work of art
8 July 2011
The photoreport underneath gives an idea on how we prepare our works of art for a trip to another museum. You can also watch these images on the museum's Flickr-page .
Packing, moving and storing
2 May 2011
The final exhibition in the old museum building closed on 30 April 2011.
Two days earlier, the first in a series of KMSKA exhibitions at host venues had already opened its
doors. So there was no time to hang around. Many collection pieces have already been moved, either
to other museums, as loans for exhibitions, or to an external depot. Other items are in the process
of being packed and moved, or they are being prepared for safe storage inside the museum building.
There are, after all, a number of pieces in the collection that simply cannot be moved.
Particularly large paintings, such as
The Baptism of Christ by
Peter Paul Rubens, will stay ‘at home’ throughout the renovation project. This
means that they will not be shown to the public for a number of years. Fortunately, though, you can
take a
virtual
tour of the Rubens gallery via the KMSKA website or through the application for iPhone, iPad
and iPod Touch.
The renovation of KMSKA will take from 2011 to 2017
30 April 2011
The long-awaited renovation of the KMSKA building commences in the autumn of 2011. Because of
the scope and complexity of the project, the work will take six years to complete. The renovation
and extension of the 19th-century building requires that all outmoded technical systems be
replaced. The museum will also get a new internal depot and the exhibition space of the building
will be increased by approximately 40%. Part of the collection will remain inside the premises
during the renovation. This means that the contractors will need to proceed with due caution.
