In many Antwerp streets you can find traces of abbeys and monastic communities; but in the Kloosterstraat or Cloister street, only the name reminds us of what was once the most prestigious address in the city.

When you look at historical city maps of Antwerp, such as ‘Scribani‘ from 1610, you will be surprised by the omnipresence of monasteries and religious communities. This has to do with the Catholic Counter-Reformation from 1585 onwards. Especially in the 17th century, our beloved archdukes Albert and Isabella strongly supported the existing religious orders and they also invited new ones.

What would our paint masters still recognize in today’s city: hardly anything, even though the street plan of the old town hasn’t changed since about 1600. Most monasteries disappeared during the era of Enlightenment, by decree of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, or afterwards during the French revolution.

Still, a few houses or huysinghen, visible in 1640, can still be seen today.

On the contrary, take this street for instance: at house numbers 31 to 37, master Rubens would probably have shed more than one tear. He would ask himself:

Where is St. Michael’s Abbey, with the grave of my much-loved mom Maria Pijpelinckx? And that of my brother Philip?
Where did I have my first studio (approximately Kloosterstraat 35)?
Where did my neighbour and later first wife, Isabella (daughter of city secretary Jan Brant), live?

Rubens would be pleasantly surprised, however, to learn that there is a Museum now in the South district, with a room that bears his name. He must have been familiar with the concept of Kunstkammer or Art room, because his own patron Cornelis van de Geest had one (that room was painted in an idealized fashion by Willem Van Haecht, now part of the Rubens House collection). And Rubens himself was very often a prominent figure in the art galleries of the monarchs of his time.

In this very street, today, he would probably visit some contemporary art galleries and book stores. He would search for works there of his classmate, business partner and good friend Balthazar Moretus, head of the famous Plantyn printery.