Art Talk: Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum

When I envisioned the Art Talk theme for this year I did it with the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in mind. This amazing museum is one of my top 3 museums!

Look at that courtyard! Isabella was an artist and visionary as much as the artists she collected to fill this gorgeous museum.

I really wanted to go back to this museum and spend some time in it. Using funds from Hive Art Talk posts I was able to travel to Boston and spend two days at this incredible museum.

There is so much to talk about and I am sure I will share some more at a later time.

Courtyard

The courtyard is stunning. It is the first thing you notice when you walk in the museum. I learned that all the plants that are not trees are kept in pots and rotated in and out of the courtyard. There is a greenhouse connected to the museum, close to the entry. How fun would that be to be the person in charge of the plants for this courtyard?

Isabella had a fun sense of humor- In addition to the plants in the courtyard, there are a lot of stone statues and an impressive mosaic of Medusa in the middle.

The museum is 4 stories and you can look out of the galleries to the courtyard from each level.

The Spanish Cloister and John Singer Sargent

In 2021 I did a post on John Singer Sargent in response to Hive account@rosiew question about why him and James McNeill Whistler are some of my favorite 19th century artists. In that post I had to use the museum's pictures. Now I have my own pictures of these incredible paintings.

Like the courtyard Isabella took pains to create an incredible Spanish Courtyard which has Mexican terracotta tiles lining the walls from the 17th century and ceramic tiles from about 1575. It is a architectural gem and houses El Jaleo beautifully.

I also went to the Harvard Art Museum while in Boston and saw this sketch of El Jaleo.

Isabella started by collecting rare books and manuscripts and moved to sculpture, tapestries and paintings. She became friends with the artist of the time like John Singer Sargent, and invited the artist to live in residence. The museum still has an artists in residence program.

Sargent painted two portraits of her. Two of my favorites in the museum full of incredible art.

Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1888		Mrs. Gardner in White, 1922

To the right on the bottom left is the one Sargent painting in the yellow room. It is called Mrs. Gardner at Fenway Court and it was painted in 1903.

This is a total surprise.

I knew he had painted the two portraits above and took this picture to show the grouping in the rooms. There is so much to see!

Madonna and Child

While I was visiting Boston I was also reading The Lioness of Boston, about Isabella's life. She did not fit into the strict Puritan Boston social circles and it was made even more difficult when she lost her only son died at the age of two.

Isabella was very religious along with a special chapel in the museum there are many Madonna and Child paintings and sculptures throughout the museum. I think they reminded her of her son and the short time she was a mother.

Great Italian Masters

One of Isabella's favorite places was Venice, Italy. She fashioned the museum after a Venetian palace. She collected art from some of the greatest masters Botticelli, Michelangelo, Giotto, Veronese and Titan.

Michelangelo, Peta, 1504		Botticelli, Virgin and Child with an Angel, 1470-1474

Giotto,The Presentation of the Christ Child in the Temple 1320		Titan, The Rape of Europa, 1559-1562

Architecture

One of the things I enjoy most about this museum is that the museum is built with art. Like in the Spanish cloister, the tiles are pieces of art that Isabella collected on her travels and then used as the structure of the museum.

This museum really is a treasure of treasures and I would love to go back and spend a few more days wandering around its walls. I have highlighted five areas that especially stood out to me this visit.

The Courtyard
The Spanish Cloister and John Singer Sargent
Madonna and Child
Great Italian Masters
Architecture

Sources:
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
El Jaleo
Spotlight on "El Jaleo" by John Singer Sargent (with ASL)
Isabella Stewart Gardner

Art Talk Series Highlights

2023
Theme: Museums
Art Talk: Rijksmusuem
Art Talk: Armstrong Browning Library and Museum
Art Talk: Musical Instrument Museum
Art Talk: Norsk Folkemuseum
Art Talk: Phoenix Art Museum
Art Talk: High Museum of Art in Atlanta
Art Talk: Saint Louis Art Museum

Art Talk: 2022 Posts
Art Talk: 2021 Posts
Art Talk: 2020 Posts
Art Talk: 2019 Posts
Art Talk: 2018 Posts