Masterpiece leaves storage as Antwerp museum nears reopening

By VIRGINIA MAYO
Associated Press

ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Moving a masterpiece is never easy, even more so when it measures 4.11 by 6.75 meters and weighs 560 kilograms. Such is the size of the “Baptism of Christ,” by Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, the jewel in the crown of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. The painting was moved out of storage Tuesday ahead of the museum’s re-opening following 11 years of renovation. General director of the museum Carmen Willems says, “We know exactly where each work will be hung or placed.” The museum doors are scheduled to reopen in September.