Weekend at the Boston Museums

This weekend I went to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts. Although I have been to both museums before, I thought I would share about it here. I know that many of our families and students are familiar with the Boston museums -- I even ran into a Hosmer family at the MFA my first year! -- but I thought I would mention them in case you have not been recently!

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is my favorite place to take guests visiting from out of town. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (called Fenway Court during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime) is a museum in the Fenway area of Boston, near the Museum of Fine Arts. 

The museum was opened in 1903 by Isabella Stewart Gardner to showcase her collection of European, Asian, and American art, from paintings and sculpture to tapestries. The building was designed to look like a 15th century palace in Venice, Italy. There is a beautiful courtyard in the center and it feels more like a house than a museum. During Isabella's lifetime, she welcomed artists, performers, and scholars here to draw inspiration from the collection and setting.

When she died in 1924, Isabella left money to support the museum and asked that her collection be permanently exhibited "for the education and enjoyment of the public forever" according to her vision and intent. The artwork remains as she had it arranged. In 1990, thirteen of the museum's works were stolen and they not been recovered yet. Also, did you know that if you are named Isabella, you get free lifetime admission? 

I also went to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Dutch still life paintings before the exhibition ended. I am planning to go again soon for the Takahashi Murakami exhibit! The Dutch and Flemish paintings from the 17th century ranged from still life to portraits and landscapes. 

I enjoyed the still life paintings, since we learn about the art of still life in 5th grade, and they were worth seeing up close in person. Many of the objects in a still life have meanings and it was amazing to see the level of detail that the artists were able to capture. They also had a sense of humor, as I noticed in the corner of one of the paintings:

If you have not yet been to these museums, I recommend that you do!