Guided visit
Join your students on a whirlwind tour of 300 years of turbulent European history. The so-called Fall of Constantinople in 1453 ends a thousand years of Middle Ages. Italian scholars speak of a rebirth—a Renaissance! Take a closer look at a beautifully furnished Renaissance interior and admire the ingenious majolica tile floor from the Abbey of Herkenrode. It's a time when the excesses of the Catholic Church are criticized, aided by a magnificent invention: the printing press. The Pope and Catholic monarchs respond fiercely with the Counter-Reformation, even launching a new art style: the Baro...
Join your students on a whirlwind tour of 300 years of turbulent European history. The so-called Fall of Constantinople in 1453 ends a thousand years of Middle Ages. Italian scholars speak of a rebirth—a Renaissance! Take a closer look at a beautifully furnished Renaissance interior and admire the ingenious majolica tile floor from the Abbey of Herkenrode. It's a time when the excesses of the Catholic Church are criticized, aided by a magnificent invention: the printing press. The Pope and Catholic monarchs respond fiercely with the Counter-Reformation, even launching a new art style: the Baroque, characterized by intense emotion and extravagance. In the museum galleries, you'll find impressive tapestries and interior decorations. Then, when Christopher Columbus sets foot on American soil in 1497, the world changes fundamentally. It marks the beginning of colonialism, the expansion of global trade, and direct European access to resources from other continents. Silver nautilus and coconut shell cups are displayed in cabinets of curiosities, decorated with tropical wood and ivory. Wealthy merchants rival royal courts with delicately embroidered dresses, elegant furniture, and fragile Rococo-style porcelain in pastel hues adorning the salons of those who can afford them. Come marvel at the Duc d’Orléans’ dinnerware, Aubusson tapestries, and a monumental tulip vase in the section decorative arts of the 18th century. This situation cannot last—the disparities and the arbitrariness of monarchs under the ancien régime are too great. The French Revolution in 1789 finally brings this early modern period to an end.
focus on the arts of the Renaissance and the Baroque. If you love cabinets of curiosities and lavish forms, then skip 18th century and limit your visit to the 16th and 17th centuries. Please mention this preference on the request form
focus on the arts of the Age of Enlightenment. Can’t get enough of the delicate decorations and candy colours of 18th-century art objects? Then skip the 16th and 17th centuries and go all-in for the Rococo! Please mention this preference on the request form
