On the World's Fair Brussels International 1910 there was a real-size reconstruction of the house of P.P. Rubens, built by the architect Henri Blomme. The reconstruction was a romantic interpretation of what the building used to be, full of ornaments, but it promoted the idea to save the building. After his death in 1921, the architect Henri Blomme left an important legacy to the city of Antwerp to buy the house. This happened finally in 1937.