9. Breviarium Romanum, 1614

Art Gallery of Ontario

9 Breviarium Romanum, 1614 NARRATOR: A breviary contained everything you needed for Catholic worship – prayers and hymns for daily use, and the wording for church services too. SASHA SUDA: This is the kind of book that would have been either owned by or available to all Catholics living in Antwerp and elsewhere in the Catholic realm, and would have helped to guide people through their own devotional practice. NARRATOR: This particular breviary was published in Antwerp, by the Plantin Moretus press, which commissioned its illustrations from Rubens. You’ll find his delicate and lively original drawings for some of the images on the wall nearby. SASHA SUDA: Rubens' engagement with printed images increases towards the end of his life. It's really the Plantin Moretus press that begins his journey on this path and which helps him to become one of the most prolific printmakers of his time.