This Boston Art Museum Displays Rembrandt and Titian in a Venetian Palace With a Year-Round Garden

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

In the 1900s, a Boston rebel named Isabella Stewart Gardner turned art collecting into performance art. She mixed Italian masterpieces with comfy chairs, set rare books next to garden blooms, and made sure it would stay that way forever. Here are some of the highlights of this remarkable museum.

The Garden Courtyard Transforms With Seasonal Blooms

At the heart of the museum waits the stunning courtyard garden, the centerpiece of the entire museum experience.

This always-blooming indoor garden changes through ten different seasonal displays throughout the year.

The garden shows off rare orchids in January, cascading nasturtiums in April, hydrangeas in July, and Japanese-style chrysanthemums in November.

Plants grow in the museum’s off-site greenhouses and rotate with precise timing. The garden’s Roman marble sculptures date from 117-138 CE. The central mosaic contains real ancient Roman stones from Antioch, put in place in 1902.

Titian Painted Europa For Spanish King Philip II

The crown jewel of the Gardner collection, this Renaissance masterpiece can be found on the third floor.

Gardner herself thought of this work by Italian Renaissance artist Titian (1488-1576) as her most treasured piece.

Titian finished it around 1562, and Gardner bought it for 20,000 pounds ($100,000), worth nearly $4 million in today’s money.

The 73 × 81 cm oil painting was ordered by King Philip II of Spain in 1550.

Its colors include rare ultramarine blue from crushed lapis lazuli. Gardner picked special silk damask wall coverings to match the painting’s color scheme.

Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait Started The Museum Collection

A key piece in the Dutch Room collection, this important work sparked Gardner’s decision to create a public museum.

She bought it in 1896, and this purchase made her want to share her private collection with everyone.

The 89.7 × 73.5 cm oil painting shows Rembrandt in 1629 when he was just starting his career. Gardner got it through art dealer Bernard Berenson for £2,500.

The portrait has the hallmarks of young Rembrandt’s style: feathery brushwork and dramatic light-and-shadow contrast. The shadow across half his face shows his early skill with tonal contrast.

Dutch Room Restoration Reveals Original 1903 Design

The Dutch Room is now going through careful restoration while staying open for visitors. if you see empty frames, that’s from the famous 1990 art heist.

Inside is an Italian coffered ceiling from 1500, originally from Orvieto. The walls once had 10 different silk damask patterns, now being remade by Prelle Manufacture of Lyon, France (started in 1752).

The glazed terracotta floor tiles were made for Gardner by the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. Rembrandt’s “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee” (1633) was among the six works stolen from this room.

Botticelli Made Lucretia For Florentine Wedding Chest

This Renaissance masterpiece ranks as one of the museum’s most important Italian works.

Created between 1496-1504, this 83.8 × 176.8 cm tempera and oil painting tells the Roman story of Lucretia in several scenes.

Gardner bought it in 1894 through Bernard Berenson, becoming the first American to own a Botticelli. The painting started as a wedding chest panel (cassone) for the Vespucci family of Florence.

Its three-part storytelling style shows Botticelli’s trademark graceful figure arrangement.

Sargent’s Captures Spanish Traditions in the Cloister

Gardner designed the Spanish Cloister gallery just to display her interest in Spanish art.

In 1906, Gardner visited Madrid, where she bought the Tomb Figure of a Knight sculpture that adorned the original alabaster frame.

Sargent’s El Jaleo’s large painting of a Spanish dance performance (finished in 1882) inside the 352 × 237 cm canvas takes over the Spanish Cloister gallery.

Fra Angelico Used Gold Leaf For Virgin Mary’s Halo

This beautiful religious painting shows the Early Renaissance style that Fra Angelico was known for. Made around 1430-1434, this 61.8 × 38.3 cm tempera and gold leaf work was once part of a larger altarpiece.

Gardner bought it in 1899 from the Methuen collection in England. The painting’s bright blue color comes from crushed lapis lazuli brought from Afghanistan.

The detailed gold leaf halos were made using a technique called pastiglia—raised gesso designs covered with gold. Fra Angelico was already famous and made a saint when Gardner bought his work.

Little Salon Shows Off Contemporary in the Courtyard

Did you know that the salon-style hanging technique, often associated with Gardner herself, is deliberately employed in this space?

The works are arranged in tight, layered formations, allowing visitors to feel a sense of intimacy with the pieces.

Every corner of this exhibit radiates exclusivity, from sculptures that blur reality to digital displays that push boundaries.

One standout was artist Kiki Smith’s hauntingly delicate sculptures, which bring a surreal touch to this otherwise historic space.

Don’t forget to peek up at the skylight—a subtle tribute to Gardner’s original architecture that connects the old to the new.

The Horses of Anahita Transport You to Persia

Located in the museum’s Loring Gallery, this exhibit features a series of intricately sculpted horses, each a nod to the ancient goddess Anahita.

Gardner personally commissioned the horses in the early 1900s from the artist Leonard Wren after learning about the deity associated with water, fertility, and wisdom.

These horses—majestic in their form—are crafted from varying materials, including ceramic and bronze, with the sleek curves and delicate details.

The glossy, black-glazed ceramic horses are juxtaposed against the gold leaf accents, creating a visual tension that draws the viewer in.

Narrow Gallery Called Vatichino or the little Vatican

Located near the Macknight Room, this gallery holds 1,850 objects, including photographs of Gardner’s family, travel souvenirs and albums.

It was deinstalled in 1972 and made into a coatroom. For the first time since then, the Vatichino has been restored and is permanently on public view.

When you enter, the portrait of Gardner in a fancy dress by Dennis Miller Bunker invites you to step into her personal treasure box.

A Japanese flag, Mexican portraits, Venetian watercolors, and a Sudanese dagger purchased on a trip to Egypt highlight her interest in diverse cultures.

Venetian Room Features Original Palazzo Ceiling

This room recreates the feel of a Venetian palace and holds many Italian masterpieces.

Designed by Gardner in 1898-1901, the room has a 16th-century carved wooden ceiling from a Venetian palazzo.

Its walls are covered in red damask fabric woven to match historical patterns. The marble floor tiles were brought directly from Venice by Gardner.

The room contains four Venetian Gothic windows saved from the Palazzo Barbaro in Venice. Gardner’s friend Henry James called this room a Venetian dream brought to life in Boston.

Tapestry Room Displays 16th Century Royal Weavings

This grand space holds impressive European tapestries and shows Gardner’s eye for decorative arts.

The 12-meter-high ceilings were designed to properly show the huge 16th-century Flemish tapestries.

The tapestries include pieces from the workshop of Willem de Pannemaker, court weaver to Emperor Charles V.

Gardner bought the set of “Europa” tapestries in 1899 for about $20,000.

The room’s north side has a rare 1770 John Broadwood harpsichord still used in concerts today. Gardner hosted famous musicians like Ignacy Paderewski here in 1903.

Japanese Bronze in the Renaissance Room

A significant portion of the collection comes from the Meiji period (1868–1912), a time when Japan was undergoing rapid modernization.

Gardner’s collection showcases the result of this fusion, where fine detail was achieved through a technique called zōgan—the inlaying of precious metals (like gold and silver) into the bronze surface.

One of the most striking pieces is an elaborate bronze sculpture of a dragon and tiger engaged in a mythical battle.

Some of the bronze vases in the collection are decorated with the uroko pattern, a traditional Japanese motif that symbolizes scales or the patterns of fish.