Finally, the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum!

We have enjoyed a couple of days of wonderful weather, with chilly nights and early mornings, and beautiful days of warm sunshine and low humidity.  Clem has played golf, I have walked and had a lunch date, read and relaxed, and met Chris and family for some nice dinners and visits.  

Saturday the kids were occupied, and it was another glorious day, but we took advantage of little traffic going into the city and went to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which has been on my list for many years!  We had offered to take Emma and a friend, but she seems undecided, as she was last year, and I really didn’t want to miss it again.  

We went in early enough to get a place to park, then walked around the Fenmore neighborhood, where we discovered the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, with multiple buildings covering a large part of the pleasant area.  Tree lined streets, and green spaces, including one of Frederick Law Olmsteads “emerald necklace” of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline.  I thought  it  would be neat if Emma decided to follow her artistic talent here, and  took several photos to share with her. 

Law abiding geese, crossing in the cross walk!

Oops....a little J walking after all! Cars just stop for them!

We made it back to the museum and were very surprised to find a line of people waiting to get in!   The doors finally opened and we made our way into the modern glass addition to the original brick building that was created by Gardner to house her vast collection of art.  

We went upstairs first to view the special sarcophogus, which was very interesting, but I couldn’t wait to get into what they call “the Palace.”   The building was designed by Isabella to resemble a Venetian Palace, and has three floors for display , and a fourth floor that served as her apartment when she was in residence.   

She inherited her fathers’  fortune when he passed, and she collected great works of art on her extensive travels  with her husband.  Eccentric and avant garde, often shocking the Boston society, she oversaw the construction of the building, and arranged all the art work to her own aesthetic, and left it with the stipulation that nothing be rearranged.  The museum is the sight of the high profile heist of 1990 where 13 works worth 500 million dollars were stolen, and never recovered, and several empty frames remain where the thieves cut out the canvases.  

The walkway all around the courtyard, with rooms full of art work. 

The building and its glass domed courtyard, the first of its kind, are beautiful, and many people seemed more intent on taking photos of themselves and loved ones in the beautiful surroundings.  There is a lot of art, and initially it seems haphazardly arranged, until you listen to the audio tour and find out why she arranged things as she did, and then it starts to make sense, and often brings a chuckle! 

We took a break after the first floor and had a nice lunch at the outdoor area of the cafe , which was very pleasant.  

The two additional floors had the more significant works of art, arranged in rooms to reflect the theme.  Rembrandt, Botticelli, Vermeer, and other well known names appeared in these rooms, with more to see than the mind can take in, and we could have spent many, many hours, had we investigated each and every item, painting, furniture, and tapestry.  As it was, we were there most of the day, and left tired and ready to go back, rather than any further exploring, which I had initally thought we might do while we were in the city.  It was a very interesting experience, and left us with even more questions about the woman and the heist, which of course I researched sitting under the trees when we returned.  

The rooms themselves are beautiful, with arching windows looking
down on the courtyard. 

The tapestry room

Portrait of Isabella 

View looking down on courtyard from one of the upstairs rooms

Empty frames from still missing paintings

Rembrandt self portrait, which hung across the wall from the empty frames!

another empty frame

Of special interest in this case of silver sculptures, is the
Ostrich, whose body holds an actual ostrich egg. 

This painting of Christ carrying the cross was her favorite, and
she often put a vase of flowers in front of it, and
the museum carries on the tradition. 

painting by artist Titian, for whom this room is named.  Cherub in bottom left of painting
is mirrored by Isabella's positioning of  the cherub on the table below. 

A Botticelli, with the veil so fine, I had to look closely to see it. 

Chapel where on every birthday, a mass is performed for Isabella. 

Large  74x32 portrait of Isabella done by her friend, John Singer Sargent.

When we left, they were still lined up to come in!

We did manage to stop for a Kimball’s ice cream down the road before returning to the coach!  

The original Kimball's, a far cry from the huge complex  it is now!

Sas all cozy in "his" corner of the bed.