Bartholomeus de Momper the Elder

[8] On 21 February 1565, Bartholomeus de Momper entered with the city government into an agreement for the lease of the Schilderij Pand der Borze.

[5] On 4 November 1576, mutinying Spanish tercios of the Army of Flanders began the sack of Antwerp, leading to three days of horror among the population of the city, which was the cultural, economic and financial center of the Low Countries.

As the tenant of the Schilderij Pand which he leased from the city government, Bartholomeus de Momper petitioned for a waiver of the rental payments on the ground that he was unable to operate his business for a while.

The city magistrate only agreed to grant a waiver of the rental payment for half a year and instructed de Momper to ensure that his sub-lessees would return to operate their business in the Schilderij Pand.

Not long after, a new threat arose in Antwerp when German soldiers started to plunder the city and broke into the exchange where they pillaged all they could lay their hands on.

[5] After the Fall of Antwerp in 1585 de Momper had difficulty finding tenants for the stalls in the Schilderij Pand, but not because the art trade was in decline.

The reason was that art dealers were running their trade on a lower floor of the bourse where they could display their paintings without having to rent the more expensive stalls in the Schilderij Pand from de Momper.

Under the agreement, Diericx would supply de Momper with loose and bound prints and maps from her stock for him to sell on her behalf for a commission.