The Rubens House > Museum > History
History
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The artist’s home, situated on the ‘Wapper’ street, has undergone many changes since Rubens bought the building in 1610.
Below you will find a brief outline of the history of the Rubens House, divided into the following periods:
In Rubens’s lifetime
In 1610, two years after his return from Italy, Rubens and his wife Isabella Brant bought a house with land on the Wapper.
Cavendish Riding School
After Rubens’s death in 1640, his second wife, Helena Fourment, continued to live in the Wapper for several years.
The house becomes a museum
From the second half of the eighteenth century, the Rubens House was subjected to various renovations and was somewhat forgotten.
The Rubens House today
As an adjunct to the Van Dyck year in 1999, the architect Stéphane Beel designed a functional pavilion in front of the artist’s house.