Artwork Inside of a Dead Person’s Home by Jonathan Coombs

            While most people believe that entering someone’s home and staring at their belongings is an invasion of privacy, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum allows you to stare at the private collection of the curator inside of her home. The museum, curated by Isabella Gardner, opened in 1903 and is located in Boston at a house she built to store her collection. In Isabella’s will, she stated that none of the pieces are to be moved from where she had placed them.               

                The collection is quite gorgeous, made up of statues, paintings, mosaics and more. My personal favorite was the courtyard, as it is a work of art constructed out of other works of art. It is a grassy place, with several statues, human and animal, meticulously placed around a tile mosaic that holds the face of medusa. The human statues face medusa while the animals all face north. The air is calming, with everything from sight to smell being authentic and unique. This is just one of several great works to be found in the museum.

                There is one piece, however, that I would like to use this platform to discuss. By discuss, I mean I will tell you what I think, and give you little or no chance to state your own opinion. Ok? In the room titled “The Tapestry Room” there is a piano. The piano is elegant, from the sleek appearance to the gold plated brass forming different patterns along the body and legs of it. This piano is clearly a work of love, the maker did an amazing job creating it. What makes me upset is the misuse of the piano. A collection is made up of paintings and statues among other things, and a collection is meant to be looked at and admired. This is fine, as paintings and statues are made to be looked at. A piano, contrarily, is made to be played. Even if the piano is beautiful, the art it creates comes from the music it produces. The craftsmen clearly put love and effort into the design of the piano, yet, it is not allowed to be touched and played. The curator of the collection did not seem to understand that there is a difference between paintings and instruments. And that partially ruins the museum as a whole for me.

                Now take a second and form an opinion. Disagree with me? I don’t mind.

                Overall, I would recommend the museum to those with time to spare and money burning a hole in your pocket. I don’t advise bringing kids under 7, as there are small dark spaces that an energetic kid will hurt themselves in. As long as you have a basic appreciation of art there is no reason you shouldn’t love this museum. If you don’t share my same opinions, then the piano won’t bother you and ruin the collection. So yes, if you live in the greater Boston area with spare time and nothing to do, consider paying a visit to Isabella Stewart’s home.

                Rating: 8.5 skittles out of 10 skittles, good while it lasts but is quickly consumed and leaves an alright aftertaste.