Snijders&Rockox House

In 2018, the brand-new Snijders&Rockox House opened for business. Nicolaas Rockox, a 17th-century mayor, art collector, and companion of Rubens, as well as the 17th-century painter Snijders, once resided there. Their homes are authentic art temples that perfectly capture the ambiance of old-fashioned patrician homes from the 17th century. They continue to bear witness to an interesting chapter of Antwerp history even after more than 400 years.

Important individuals in Antwerp during the Baroque era included Rockox and Snijders. Both left their imprint on the city’s social and cultural life. Frans Snijders is a talented painter of animals and still lifes, and Nicolaas Rockox is the mayor. Additionally, they lived next to each other for twenty years in two aristocratic residences in the Keizerstraat. By peering over Nicolaas and Frans’ shoulders, we can see how they lived. The Duarte family, a noble family, was also a guest of Nicolaas and Frans. They exchanged jewelry, but their contemporaries were more in awe of them for their musical abilities. The Antwerp Museum Vleeshuis has contributed knowledge and provided some of its instruments on long-term loan in order to portray their narrative.