Gardner Museum, reviewed by Ann-Sophie Stoermann

The world as a museum-the museum as a world? by Ann-Sophie Stoermann

The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum shows paintings and art Isabella StewartGardener bought while she was travelling around the world. She bought so much arts work that it didn’t fit into her house, so she built a new one and arranged everything by herself. Artwork is everywhere, just the way she wanted it to be. After her death she gave this house to the city Boston to make a museum out of it, but with the limitation that everything has to be left the way it was. A few years ago, some paintings were stolen out of the gallery, but they weren’t replaced, because of the limitations. That’s why you will recognize some empty frames while walking through the museum.

            Is it possible to bring the whole world together on one place in form of art? Yes, Isabella Steward Gardener succeeded. She brought paintings from everywhere except for Africa and Australia to this one place. As you walk through the museum you will recognize that it almost makes you feel like you were in another country, especially when you arrive in one of the little rooms that contain only Asian work. Golden ornaments, paintings with a lot of space and almost geometrically structured and Asian people on them make you quickly recognize where you are.

Throughout the museum you will find a lot of paintings of Jesus and his life. Isabella seems to be a very religious woman. You can tell by looking at all the paintings of Jesus that reach from his birth over the last supper, over his death, and yes also over his life on heaven you will find everything in different colors, sculptures and techniques.

Some rooms include only paintings and arts work from one country and accordingly the room is named after that country. Inn the Early Italian Room for example you can find an impressing glass painting. On the bottom it shows the death of the Virgin Mary. She is lying on a bed surrounded by other Saints. All of them have a golden gloriole and the closer you get to the painting the better you can see their faces and you may not believe it, but they almost seem real as you look at them. The top part of the picture shows heaven. Little angels are looking up to the middle of the top where you can see Jesus, also with a golden gloriole. He is hugged from behind from an almost invisible blue as the background-colored person who probably is God. The longer you look at the picture the more you will find.

This also applies to giant carpets Isabella hung out throughout the Museum. They are so big that you have to step back to capture the whole picture on them with your eye. Every one of them tells a story or pictures a situation and the more time you spend standing in front of it and the more you think about your knowledge of religion and history the more interested you get into the story and the meanings of this painting            All in one the museum is definitely worth it visiting for young and old, for artists and non-artists. There is something for everyone and also, if you are not interested in museums you will eventually love it. You have to love it.