Famous Paintings Reviewed

Staycation: Famous Paintings in Boston!

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An art history blog post from Famous Paintings Reviewed.

Staycation this year? Great! It's a wonderful chance to explore the famous paintings in Boston. See an astounding array of works by some of the most famous painters in the Western history of painting - from old master paintings to modern masterpieces. By viewing famous paintings in our local museums, you'll see how art history reflects the development of Western culture. And who can't learn more about that?

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Wishing you were in Europe instead of on a staycation? Let the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum transport you to the 15th century with its Venetian-styled palace.  With a three story atrium centered over a courtyard (remember, my love is the history of painting... not of architecture!), the museum houses over 2500 paintings.  Be sure to catch these masterpiece paintings:

1. Angelico, Fra. Death and Assumption of the Virgin (for an image, look here)
2. Botticelli, Sandro. The Tragedy of Lucretia & Virgin and Child with an Angel
3. Degas, Hilaire-Germain-Edgar. Portrait of Joséphine Gaujelin
4. Manet, Edouard. Portrait of Madame Auguste Manet
   
5. Matisse, Henri. The Terrace, Saint-Tropez
6. Raphael. Count Tommasso Inghirami
7. Rubens, Peter Paul. Portrait of Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel
8. Sargent, John Singer. Portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner & El Jaleo
   

9. Titian, (Tiziano Vecellio). Rape of Europa (above)
10. van Dyck, Anthony. Portrait of a Woman with a Rose
11. Velázquez, Diego. King Philip IV of Spain
12. Whistler, James Abbott McNeill. Nocturne, Blue and Silver: Battersea Reach

More Information about the Gardner?

In 1990, thieves heisted thirteen works from the Gardner, none of which has been recovered in spite of a $5 million reward.  For me, the most significant loss was Vermeer's The Concert, a longtime favorite painting. For more information, click here

Hours, Directions and Location:Visiting the Gardner

Museum of Fine Arts

The Museum of Fine Arts houses some of the most famous artwork in the world, some 450,000 works.  It's a treasure of Boston, and well worth exploration on a staycation -- or any other time! The following is an oh-so-brief list of famous paintings I try to see during every visit:

1. Cassatt, Mary.  In the Loge (for an image, look here)
2. Cezanne, Paul. Madame Cézanne in a Red Armchair (for an image, look here.  For more about Cezanne, read here). 
3. Copley, John Singleton. Paul Revere, Watson and the Shark & Samuel Adams
4. Davis, Stuart. Hot Still-scape for Six Colors
5. Degas, Hilaire-Germain-Edgar. Visit to a Museum
6. El Greco. Brother Hortensio Felix Paravicino (for an image, look here)
   
7. Gauguin, Paul. Whence We Come? What are We? Whither We Go?
8. Millet, Jean-Francois. The Sower
9. Monet, Claude. Rouen Cathedral in Full Sunlight & The Waterlily Pond
10. Rembrandt. The Artist in his Studio (for an image, look here)
11. Sargent, John Singer. The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (for an image, click here)
12. Turner, Joseph Mallord William. The Slave Ship
13. van der Weyden, Rogier. Saint Luke Depicting the Virgin (for an art analysis of this work, read here)
14. Velázquez, Diego. Don Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf
    (for an image, look here)

Ideas for Visiting with Young Children

When I used to explore art museums with my two sons (now teenagers), I would boldly start each visit at the art museum gift shop.  There, I'd let each select three postcards of famous paintings (my preferred medium, clearly!), and then we'd take off in hot pursuit of them.  They found the "Treasure Hunt" approach fabulous, and they'd - gasp - actually ask to go to art museums.  By the time we'd located and discussed all six works (after covering miles of museum!), one and all were ready to leave.  Hope this works for you!

These experiences were the impetus to start Masterpiece Cards (www.TheMasterpieceCards.com),  a business which reproduces and reviews famous paintings on art history flashcards.  With the Cards in tow, I would've been able to expose my boys (and educate myself) before being onsite - which makes it all the more enjoyable. Happy museum going!

Susan Benford

www.TheMasterpieceCards.com