"Clio may be the most austere and chaste of the Muses, but she has been known to come down informally from Mount Helicon in a mood so raffish that there are those who claim to have seen her with her slip showing." ~Willis Thornton, Fable, Fact and History
I am always intrigued by the paintings of Clio-(my personal Muse of Choice)- this one by Vermeer- very much so. what is the story of this painting? It's all explained here-
Do go and read the story and the discussion- topic- the expansion of the ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM in Boston. There are many reasons to know the museum and perhaps more not to-The Museum is about as idiosyncratic and fascinating as the lady whose name its bears.
Vermeer's the Concert
-STOLEN-
Such a story. the Woman- the Art Collection- the Museum-the Robbery. Now- another chapter in the Gardner story-the expansion.
interior courtyard of the Palazzo
the Fenway
an older Gardner
painted by friend Sargent
Mrs. Jack Gardner- known as Donna Isabella- the doted on wife of Jack Gardner of Boston Society. Her antics were scandalous, salacious even- for staid Boston as the 19th century was looking to turn. Her very long strand of pearls were as legend as her eccentricities. She was known for her passion as an art collector with unlimited funds- was sought after by the likes of Henry James who was inspired by Isabella and her magnificent pearls for his novel The Wings of the Dove. John Signer Sargent was a good friend. Mrs. Gardner began amassing her art collections in her travels abroad with her husband and her trips to Venice would ultimately inspire her own version of Venice's Palazzo Barbaro - now the Isabella Gardner Museum.
1894 in Venice
painted by Anders Zorn
The Museum feels ancient when entering-it truly draws you in to the era-the stunning collection Gardner collected with the expertise of Bernard Berenson. Botticelli, Titian, Raphael- all reside in the Museum today.
Her museum was her home-and she stipulated that after her death, each painting and each object in the collection was to remain as she placed it. Thieves did not take this into account.
The 1990 robbery of Vermeer's The Concert was a shock to the art world-lax security, priceless works of art, the frustrations of an unsolved case still hover over the Dutch Room at the Gardner. Gilt frames hang empty-awaiting the return of Mrs. Gardner's property.
Again- Mrs. Jack is in the news- The new expansion of the Gardner. The 70,000 square foot space-said somewhere to be the as the young nephew that reveres and idolizes the grand old aunt. We shall see how kind the wiley nephew behaves. He is jangling the nerves and pearls of the Gardner right now-
Ferrara! in thy wide and grass-grown streets, Whose symmetry was not for solitude, There seems as t'were a curse upon the seats of former sovereigns, and the antique brood of Este, which for many an age made good
Its strength within thy walls, and was of yore Patron or tyrant, as the changing mood Of petty power impell'd, of those he wore The wreath which Dante's brow alone had worn before.
XLI.
The lightning rent from Ariosto's bust The iron crown of laurel's mimic'd leaves; Nor was the ominous element unjust.
For the true laurel wreath which glory weaves is of the tree no bolt of thunder cleaves, And the false semblance but disgraced his brow; Yet still, if fondly superstition grieves, Know that the lightning sanctifies below Whate'er it strikes yon head is doubly sacred now.
from CHILDE HAROLD"S PILGRIMAGE
**Byron's Wreath of Laurel**
Wreaths of laurel on a victor's brow began with Livia Drusilla, wife of Caesar Augustus. "A hen of remarkable whiteness... was holding in its beak a laurel branch bearing its berries" and dropped the branch at Livia's feet. From this time onward, the bird and her offspring resided in nests, at the Poultry on the Tiber where the laurel branch was planted and propagated..."The laurel grove so begun has thriven in a marvelous way..."
From this time, all the Caesars appeared in triumph & held a laurel branch from the original tree in his hand and wore laurel wreath upon his head-and planted the branch. Pliny the Elder
"Nod to ancient elegance in Louis Mariette's detailed headbands. Take inspiration from the classics and pair it with a draped maxi dress for the ultimate in Grecian glamour." from net a porter
