The preliminary design for the renovation and expansion of Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp is now ready. The adjacent city palace, which housed Antwerp's district house until 2021, will become part of the museum. In the future, museum visits will start in this former home of the Mayer van den Bergh family. This ambitious restoration and renovation project will see the Board of Regents, which owns the collection and the historic museum building, joining forces with the City of Antwerp. The city is requesting an investment grant from the government of Flanders. Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven Architecten BV is responsible for the design and is working with the British architectural firm of Julian Harrap, which specialises in the restoration of historic heritage.
Render of façade with new main entrance © Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven Architecten
New main entrance © Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven Architecten
Render of courtyard © Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven Architecten
Unique heritage story
Henriëtte Mayer van den Bergh, Fritz's mother, had the private museum built in 1901-1904. Fritz was an inspired art connoisseur who amassed a collection full of masterpieces in barely a decade. After his sudden death, mother Henriëtte realised her son's unfulfilled wish, to construct his own museum. The City of Antwerp and a Board of Regents have jointly managed the building and collection since 1951.
A postcard from about 1920 showing a view of the small courtyard from the Great Gothic Hall both of which have now vanished. These are set to be restored to their full glory.
Reuniting the historic museum with the former home of the Mayer van den Bergh family is a unique opportunity. The spotlight falls on the extraordinary heritage story of Fritz and Henriëtte. Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven Architecten is restoring the vacant corner building into an atmospheric city palace and returning the current museum (as far as possible) to the situation as of 1904, the year it opened its doors. The unique historical atmosphere of the museum is thus cherished and enhanced while, at the same time, contemporary insights and techniques ensure the best possible preservation and presentation conditions for the collection. Indeed, with more than 60 masterpieces on the Flemish Masterpiece List, Museum Mayer van den Bergh has an exceptionally high-quality art collection on display.
More space, greater comfort
With the additional new building at the rear of the museum, Museum Mayer van den Bergh will have the space to accommodate more visitors in comfort. A welcoming reception area with museum shop, a semi-public courtyard garden, rooms for temporary exhibits, an educational area and a brand-new visitor trail will provide a high-end museum experience without compromising the intimate, homely atmosphere that the museum has exuded since 1904.
The current museum (blue-green), the family residence (purple) and the new wing (orange) are located around a new courtyard garden. You can start your museum tour and/or visit the courtyard garden through a new main entrance, the former horse-drawn carriage entrance (green).
Collection remains on show
Renovation work will begin in the spring of 2026. The museum will close on 22 April 2025, right after the Easter holidays, and reopening is scheduled for 2029. During the closure, an important share of the collection - including its many masterpieces - will remain on show to the Antwerp and (inter)national public.
In the summer of 2025, the temporary exhibition 'Public Favourites. 43 Personal Stories from the Mayer van den Bergh Collection' will be opened at the Maagdenhuis. Together with city residents and visitors, the Museum Mayer van den Bergh will seek out personal and surprising stories that transcend the art historical value of the collection and broaden our view of Fritz's collection. Simultaneously, many Flemish masterpieces, including the 'Dulle Griet' (Mad Meg) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the medieval 'Christ and St John the Apostle' by Master Heinrich von Konstanz, will remain on display for visitors from home and abroad.
In addition, a sophisticated loan policy will ensure that masterpieces from Fritz's collection remain on display in other (national and international) museums. Museum Mayer van den Bergh, for example, has a collaboration with the prestigious Musée de Cluny. As of late 2027, some of the so-called 'Micheli Collection', Fritz's largest and most expensive art purchase ever, will be on display in Paris.
Stories wanted
In preparation for the 'Public Favourites' exhibition, Museum Mayer van den Bergh is launching an open call. During the museum closure, which collection piece does the public regard as indispensable in the city - for personal reasons - and should not disappear into storage. With which artwork or object from the collection do they have a special connection? Antwerp residents and museum visitors are invited to submit their personal stories via the museum website (only in dutch) or in the story box at the reception desk.
