Timothy De Paepe focused on what was once Antwerp’s artistic nerve center: the large Picture Gallery of the St Luke’s Guild, on the first floor of the Old Exchange. An evocative location that was shared by painters and practitioners of amateur dramatics; indeed, some artists excelled in both disciplines. This room with its rich pictorial furnishings was one of the main theaters in Antwerp in the 17th and 18th centuries. The paintings that hung there are still known today: they can now be seen at the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
In his lecture, Timothy De Paepe put forward a proposal for the reconstruction of this gallery and the works of art to be hung there. Participants went on a short excursion to the Kolveniershof, where the lecture was given – in this 18th-century arena for drama and dance.