Photo Journal: Visiting The Gardner Museum in Boston
Four years ago, I listened to a podcast called “Last Seen”… on the edge of my seat for each episode even though I already knew the outcome…
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was robbed in 1990 in what became history’s biggest unsolved art heist. Thirteen priceless works of art were lost, including one of my all-time favorite paintings, Rembrandt’s “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee.”
The museum has tried tirelessly since the 1990s to recover the works—hence the fascinating podcast released in 2020 and the Netflix documentary that followed (I think the podcast is WAY better). And still, the works haven’t been recovered.
After hearing this story and deep-diving into what feels like a murder mystery for the fine art world, I quickly added The Gardner to my museum bucket list. I hoped that one day, whenever I found myself in Boston for some reason, I would get to go see the place where my favorite painting once hung.
You know, it’s funny. The museum is described as perhaps more famous for the works of art it lacks than those that remain. After the theft, the curators rehung the empty picture frames that the thieves left behind to symbolize the gap that remains in the collection until the stolen works come home.
It gives a real spooky vibe in person.
Anyway - needless to say - when I realized that my sister-in-law would be getting married in Cape Cod this summer, Jesús and I made sure to include a visit to Boston and the museum in the trip.
The museum is so beautiful in person, with its Venetian-style courtyard and meticulously curated galleries.
When I got to the Dutch Room, I wasn’t as emotional as I thought I would be after all the anticipation of visiting this place.
What struck me the most in that room was the painting Isabella placed directly opposite to The Storm. Her first significant purchase as a collector was a self-portrait that depicts a very young Rembrandt. When she acquired “Storm on the Sea of Galilee” years later, she wanted the younger version of Rembrandt to stare out across the room at one of his masterworks - as if to admire his accomplishments in his career.
I thought about the eyes of this portrait watching over the thieves as his painting was stolen and prayed that one day, those eyes would peer out at “Storm on the Sea of Galilee” again. And I prayed I would get to witness this in my lifetime before wrapping up and walking onward to the next gallery.
