On Saturday 21 March, Museum Plantin-Moretus welcomes spring with a new exhibition filled with beautiful botanical imagery. ‘The Plants of Plantin‘ brings together five centuries of botanical illustrations, ranging from sixteenth-century wooden printing blocks to modern artworks. The botanical works also formed the inspiration for the museum’s newly redesigned inner garden.
In 2026, Museum Plantin-Moretus celebrates the 500th anniversary of Carolus Clusius (1526–1609), a physician and botanist from the Low Countries. From Saturday 21 March, visitors can discover the finest botanical imagery from the collections of Museum Plantin-Moretus. The exhibition presents prints, modern drawings and historic book illustrations featuring wild plants, flowers, vegetables and fruit from the 16th to the 20th century. The museum also preserves around 4,000 woodblocks that were used to print botanical illustrations in early modern books.
Alderman for Culture Lien Van de Kelder (Vooruit): “‘The Plants of Plantin’ is the work of many hands: residents of Antwerp, nature organisations, visitors and even our city poet Esohe Weyden worked together with the museum team. In this interactive exhibition, those botanical art treasures truly come to life through guided tours, workshops, printing demonstrations and poetic storytelling sessions. What I am also looking forward to? The renewed historic inner garden, where this centuries-old knowledge will once again take root in the heart of the city!’
500 years of botanical images
Thanks to the Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius, the tulip found its way to Europe via Antwerp in the sixteenth century. We also know the potato, beans and salsify thanks to him. Together with Rembert Dodoens and Matthias Lobelius, Clusius formed the famous botanical trio of the 16th century. Their work laid the foundations for modern botany. Many of their books became true bestsellers and were printed by Christoffel Plantin and his successors.
Museum director Iris Kockelbergh: “The Plantin house is situated in a unique period of history. Many of the heroes of this house celebrate their 500th anniversary in the 21st century. And this year it is Carolus Clusius’s turn. To this day, he is internationally recognised as one of the founders of modern plant science. We celebrate this with an exhibition in which visitors can enjoy the most beautiful botanical images from five centuries.”
For centuries, nature has inspired artists and scientists. In ‘The Plants of Plantin’, the museum brings together five centuries of botanical imagery through botanical books, woodblocks, drawings and prints. Across five thematic sections, visitors discover images of wild plants, trees, mushrooms, ornamental flowers, vegetables and fruit.
Organisations such as the City of Antwerp’s Green Service and Natuurpunt helped shape the exhibition. City poet Esohe Weyden also contributed an artistic, floral addition.
Historic and colourful inner garden
The inner garden of Museum Plantin-Moretus is undergoing a thorough transformation, based on a design by landscape architect Ronald van der Hilst. Visitors will be able to admire more than 100 of the plants described by Clusius in his works in the garden. The City of Antwerp’s Green Service carried out the planting.
The garden will become a colourful mix of flowers and edible and ornamental plants. The layout is based on Renaissance gardens, with particular attention to symmetry, order and sensory experience. The design also takes into account contemporary insights on biodiversity and sustainability. The planting techniques used make fertilisation unnecessary and limit the need for watering. Last year, the museum’s south garden was also refreshed by Wirtz Tuinarchitectuur.
Practical information
‘The Plants of Plantin’
From Saturday 21 March at Museum Plantin-Moretus.
The exhibition is included in the museum admission ticket.
More information and tickets via ‘The Plants of Plantin’.
During the Open Gardens Weekend on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May, visitors can freely visit the inner garden. More information via Open Gardens Weekend.
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