Who painted this magnificent ceiling is unclear, but one thing is for certain: the master was very good at his/her job. Our anonymous artist evidently wanted to make it seem as if the gods of Mount Olympus were floating above the Hofkamer here in Antwerp. Which is why he/she also painted his/her work on a background of lush architecture that matches the rest of the room and especially the shape of the mantlepiece in Carrara marble. Not to mention that the painting is also the biggest painted ceiling on canvas in Western Europe.
The Hofkamer, an 18th-century sala terrena in Antwerp, is tucked away at the back of the inner courtyard of the Den Wolsack townhouse. The blue-green colour palette of the walls, accentuated with bronze-coloured mouldings, reminds us of the delicate artworks that could not be saved: the murals on canvas commissioned by François Adriaan Van den Bogaert in 1772. The lighting elements are reminiscent of the windows, but also hark back to the candlelight of yore, the whole culminating in a truly magnificent experience that takes your breath away as soon as you cross the threshold.
Custom parking space
Adapted toilet
Horizontal circulation / Paths
Entrance / Access
Waiting room / Sofa
