In 2026, the Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp is celebrating the 500th birthday of Carolus Clusius (1526-1609), a doctor and botanist from the Low Countries. With that in mind, the museum is inviting you to come and see the most attractive botanical images from the 16th to the 20th centuries from its own collections, with the ‘Plantin’s Plants‘ exhibition.
“Our focus is on topics such as wild plants, trees, fungi, decorative flowers and fruit and vegetables, as seen in illustrations in old books, and the woodblocks used to print them, but also on exquisite prints and drawings from the modern era”, the museum says.
Together with Rembert Dodoens and Matthias Lobelius, Carolus Clusius was part of a botanical trio from the 16th century that laid the foundations for this important scientific discipline.
The majority of works by these authors were published by Christophe Plantin. The Museum Plantin-Moretus still has around 4,000 woodblocks in its collection that were used to print the botanical illustrations in those books.
The items on display in the exhibition were selected with the help of external partners, such as the Parks Service (Groendienst) of the City of Antwerp and Natuurpunt. Even the city poet, Esohe Weyden, has provided a floral contribution.
A visit
Thanh and I visited on opening day, which was also the start of spring. Isn’t 21 March the start of spring? Anyway, being Museum Pass holders, we had a quick look.
The exhibition focuses on a specific flower, plants, fruits, vegetables, and trees. I remember the apricot, the tomato, and the horse chestnut being on display. You see books, drawings, woodblocks.
Don’t forget the garden, where, when we were there, a few flowers looked very lively.
So?
I wouldn’t per se go especially visit for the exhibition, but it’s a seasonal topic. The museum as a whole is certainly worth your time.
The exhibition runs until 2 August 2026.
Art and museums in Antwerp
- MoMu celebrates 40 years of the Antwerp Six with landmark exhibition and opening weekend.
- FOMU 2026 | Carrie Mae Weems, Diane Severin Nguyen, Families, and Tenderly There by Tashattot.
- ANTWERP | M HKA opens new season with exhibition on censorship and artistic resistance.
- ANTWERP | Climb the Cathedral of Our Lady tower.
- ANTWERP | Rubens House appoints two design teams.
- ROYAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS ANTWERP | ‘The Fall of Alba’s Citadel. Image and Memory in Turbulent Times’, from 6 February to 17 May 2026.
- Antwerp’s municipal museums surpass 2 million visitors in 2025.
- ANTWERP | KMSKA schedules ambitious exhibition programme for 2026, featuring international masters such as Antony Gormley, Philip Aguirre y Otegui and Ossip Zadkine.
- Museums of the City of Antwerp look ahead to 2026.
- REVIEW | ‘La ligne de vie’ René Magritte exhibition at Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA).
- REVIEW | ‘Universal Tongue’, on dance, at Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS) until 4 January 2026.
- 2028 to be Music Year in Antwerp.
- ANTWERP | Museum Mayer van den Bergh opens exhibition ‘Public Favourites’, from Mad Meg to Delft Blue, look at art through other people’s eyes.
- ANTWERP | Graphics Museum De Reede ft. Francisco Goya, Edvard Munch, Félicien Rops and Albrecht Dürer.
- ANTWERP | Rubens Experience and Rubens Garden at Rubenshuis.
- ANTWERP | Innovations in the Middelheim Museum provide a completely new visitor experience.
- A visit of the Flemish Tram and Bus Museum – Vlaams Tram- en Autobusmuseum (VlaTAM) in Antwerp.
- ANTWERP | Discovering queer(ed) art with the Queer Tour at the KMSKA fine arts museum.
- REVIEW | Illusion Antwerpen, an active and photogenic museum.
- Antwerp museums and sports facilities team up with European Disability Card for accessible leisure activities.
- Museum Mayer van den Bergh.
- ANTWERP | Inside Rubens House.
- Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp.
- ANTWERP | Museum Vleeshuis up for restoration.
- BOOK | ‘Antwerp. An Archaeological View on the Origin of the City’ by Tim Bellens.
- Red Star Line Museum.
- Paleis op de Meir.
- DIVA, Antwerp Home of Diamonds.
- ANTWERP | Red Star Line Museum of (e)migration.
