The Plantin-Moretus Museum ( nl, Plantin-Moretusmuseum) is a printing museum in
Antwerp,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
which focuses on the work of the 16th-century printers
Christophe Plantin
Christophe Plantin ( nl, Christoffel Plantijn; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp.
Life
Plantin was born in France, probably in Saint-Avertin, near the city of ...
and
Jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, the
Plantin Press, at the Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market) in Antwerp, and has been a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
since 2005.
History
The printing company was founded in the 16th century by
Christophe Plantin
Christophe Plantin ( nl, Christoffel Plantijn; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp.
Life
Plantin was born in France, probably in Saint-Avertin, near the city of ...
, who obtained type from the leading typefounders of the day in Paris.
Plantin was a major figure in contemporary printing with interests in humanism; his eight-volume, multi-language
Plantin Polyglot
The Plantin Polyglot (also called the ''Antwerp Polyglot'', the ''Biblia Regia'' or "King's Bible") is a polyglot Bible, printed under the title ''Biblia Polyglotta'' by Christopher Plantin in Antwerp (Belgium) between 1568 and 1573.
Plantin wa ...
Bible with Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Syriac texts was one of the most complex productions of the period.
Plantin's is now suspected of being at least connected to members of heretical groups known as the
Familists, and this may have led him to spend time in exile in his native France.
After Plantin's death it was owned by his son-in-law
Jan Moretus. While most printing concerns disposed of their collections of older type in the eighteenth and nineteenth century in response to changing tastes, the Plantin-Moretus company "piously preserved the collection of its founder."
Four women ran the family-owned Plantin-Moretus printing house (
Plantin Press) over the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries:
Martina Plantin,
Anna Goos,
Anna Maria de Neuf and
Maria Theresia Borrekens.
In 1876 Edward Moretus sold the company to the city of
Antwerp. One year later the public could visit the living areas and the printing presses. The collection has been used extensively for research, by historians
H. D. L. Vervliet,
Mike Parker and
Harry Carter.
Carter's son
Matthew would later describe this research as helping to demonstrate "that the finest collection of printing types made in typography's golden age was in perfect condition (some muddle aside)
long withPlantin's accounts and inventories which names the
cutters of his types."
In 2002 the museum was nominated as
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
and in 2005 was inscribed onto the World Heritage list.
The Plantin-Moretus Museum possesses an exceptional collection of
typographical material.
Not only does it house the two oldest surviving printing presses in the world
and complete sets of dies and matrices, it also has an extensive library, a richly decorated interior and the entire archives of the Plantin business, which were inscribed on
UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
Register in 2001 in recognition of their historical significance.
Collection
* a
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
in five languages:
Biblia Polyglotta (1568-1573)
* ''
Thesaurus Teutoniae Linguae'' by
Cornelis Kiliaan
Cornelis Kiliaan (1528, Duffel – 1607, Antwerp), was a 16th-century lexicographer, linguist, translator and poet of the Southern Netherlands.
Biography
He was born in Duffel between 1528 and 1530. His parents, Anna and Hendrick van Kiele Re ...
* a geographical book: ''
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' made by
Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the '' Theatrum Orbis Terra ...
* a book describing
herbs: ''
Cruydeboeck'' made by
Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens (born Rembert Van Joenckema, 29 June 1517 – 10 March 1585) was a Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. He has been called the father of botany.
Life
Dodoens was born Rember ...
* an anatomical book made by
Andreas Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius (Latinized from Andries van Wezel) () was a 16th-century anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, ''De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (''On the fabric of the human body'' ' ...
and
Joannes Valverde
* a book about
decimal numbers from
Simon Stevin
Simon Stevin (; 1548–1620), sometimes called Stevinus, was a Flemish mathematician, scientist and music theorist. He made various contributions in many areas of science and engineering, both theoretical and practical. He also translated vario ...
* a
36-line Bible
* paintings and drawings by
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...
* the study of humanist
Justus Lipsius
Justus Lipsius (Joest Lips or Joost Lips; 18 October 1547 – 23 March 1606) was a Flemish Catholic philologist, philosopher, and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible w ...
and many of his works
* some of the materials used by French type designer and printer
Robert Granjon
See also
*
List of museums in Belgium
*
Renaissance humanism in Northern Europe
*
Max Rooses
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Museum Plantin-MoretusPlantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum ComplexUNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture
Pictures from the museumA review of the Plantin-Moretus Museum
{{Authority control
World Heritage Sites in Belgium
Museums in Antwerp
Printing press museums
Biographical museums in Belgium
Historic house museums in Belgium
Houses in Belgium
Museums established in 1877
1877 establishments in Belgium
Art museums and galleries in Belgium