Extra NIGHT of the CHURCHES
The comeback of our paintings in 1815
Friday, 4 December 2015
Antwerpers almost take it for granted to be able to admire homegrown artists in the world’s most renowned museums. But for the top of Antwerp art you no longer need to go to the Louvre, because barely five months after the Battle of Waterloo, the looted paintings that used to adorn our churches returned from Paris. In 1815 they were subject to great festivities in the whole of Antwerp. Now, exactly 200 years later, the churches of Antwerp throw a party with lectures, guided tours, nocturne illuminations, musical and ‘theatrical’ evocations and the ringing of bells together at 7 p.m. all over the city.