Fritz Mayer Van Den Bergh

Necklace with 44 cherry pits, all in the shape of a unique head, 1480-1499

Pieter Breughel the Elder, 'Carnival and Lent', 1600

Pieter De Bloot,  'Drie drinkebroers' ('The Three Drinkers'), 1625

Frans Pourbus, 'Parable of the Prodigal Son', 1500 (+ detail)

Museum Mayer van den Bergh opened its doors in Antwerp in 1904, three years after the death of art collector Fritz Mayer van den Bergh. The museum was founded by his mother, Henriëtte van den Bergh. Henriëtte saw it as her duty to realize Fritz’s dream of having his own museum. It became the first museum in the world to be built around a single collection.