ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM
Raphael, Titian, John Singer Sargent, Rembrandt, Manet and many others can be discovered in this art museum with its magnificent gardens.
Opened in 1903, this rare pearl has become one of the most visited museums in Boston. It houses, on three floors, the art collection of Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924), who had this Venetian palace built in 1903 and lived there all her life. During his lifetime the place was called Fenway Court.
The museum does not linger on the life, however exciting, of this great collector who, after the loss of her only child, regained a taste for life thanks to a trip to Europe. Isabella Steward then travelled the world to buy works by Raphael, Titian (Europe), Matisse (Terrace in Saint-Tropez) and Manet (Madame Auguste Manet)... While the museum gives pride of place to European art, with thousands of objects from ancient Rome, the Italian Renaissance and French paintings of the 19th century, it also displays some very fine American and Asian works of art.
Three portraits of this art specialist are on display, including two by John Singer Sargent. The first is in the Gothic Room (3rd floor); Isabella Stewart is then in her forties. The second, painted a few years before her death, is on display in the Macknight Room (ground floor). The third, by Anders Zorn, the radiant watch in Venice. Among the masterpieces in these collections are Rembrandt's self-portrait (at the age of 23) and Botticelli's The Tragedy of Lucretia (2nd floor), Giotto's The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, and a stained glass window from Soisson Cathedral (3rd floor). Also, in the Short Gallery, the portrait of a woman by Kronberg.
The garden, refined and very well maintained, is a haven of peace. One can admire there many plants (different according to the seasons), a mosaic and the statue of Medusa.
In March 1990, two men posing as policemen managed to infiltrate the museum. They left with eleven canvases and two works of art under their arm, including three Rembrandts, five Degas, a Manet and, even more priceless, the canvas The Concert painted by Vermeer in 1664. Those responsible have never been arrested, although strong suspicions hang over the local mafia, and the works are still missing. This is the most expensive burglary in the history of museums, with an estimated value of $500 million. Tip: Use the map at the entrance to find the masterpieces of this Venetian palace (their names are not listed).
La cour intérieure est belle