Divine Interiors. Experience churches in the age of Rubens

450 years ago, anecdotes that we would now relate via social media were shared in churches, then the most important places for meeting up with others. In 2016, Museum Mayer van den Bergh is presenting for the first time a selection of church interiors that speak to us about daily life in that period. As well as being places of liturgy, churches were where people celebrated, grieved, paraded, begged, gossiped and even played. Everyday life played out within. And this can be seen in paintings on the subject made in such great quantity in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th centuries. These church interiors are not only masterpieces of perspective, but also present fascinating scenes of existing or lost churches replete with splendid indoor vistas, every corner revealing to us daily life. Museum Mayer van den Bergh is bringing together a number of these church interiors for the first time. This beautifully illustrated catalogue introduces the reader to locations that were the places to meet in the 16th and 17th centuries.