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| John Singer Sargent, El Jaleo, 1882 |
I began my day by visiting the Old North Church. I got a later start than anticipated due to parking issues (read my tips here to avoid a similar situation) and the pouring rain. I purchased tickets online to go on the cemetery and the behind the scenes tours of the Old North Church. However, due to the rain, the cemetery tour was canceled. Even though I missed the specified time for the behind the scenes tour, the sweet lady at the ticket office put me on the next tour and refunded my ticket for the cemetery tour.
While I was waiting for my tour to begin, I visited Captain Jackson's Historic Chocolate Shop, part of the Old North Church campus. In the shop, historically dressed actors show you how colonists made and consumed chocolate (as a thick drink). Plus, they hand out samples :)
The behind the scenes tour of the church was so cool! We went up two extremely narrow flights of stairs and saw where the eight chamber bells are rung. The bell ringing is so intricate that a volunteer group of MIT students ring them. We also visited the crypt underneath the church as well. We saw the historic portion of the crypt, which is bricked up now, and the newer portion, where people can have their remains interned today.
The sanctuary of the church is interesting. Instead of pews, it has boxes that families would purchase. People decorated their boxes and brought in foot warmers during the winter.
Of course, the Old North Church is the church where two men hung two lanterns in the steeple. This served as a signal for Paul Revere and his famous ride that the British were coming by sea and not land ("the British are coming, the British are coming").
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| Spanish Salamanca, Tomb Figure of a Knight, ca. 1498-1500 |
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| Joinville-Vignory, Retable with Scenes of the Passion, ca. 1425 |
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| John Singer Sargent, Incensing the Veil, 1880 |
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| Carlo Crivelli, Saint George Slaying the Dragon, 1470 |
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| Workshop of Jacques Geubels, Chateau and Garden Tapestry: Strolling and Seated Lovers, ca. 1585-1600 |
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| Bartolome Bermejo, Saint Engracia, ca. 1474 |
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| Tapestry Room |
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| Pedro Garcia de Benabarre, Saint Michael Archangel, ca. 1470 |
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| Dutch Room |
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| Studio Paolo Veronese, The Coronation of Hebe, 1580-89 |
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| Titan, Rape of Europa, 1562 |
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| Diego Velazquez, King Philip IV of Spain, 1628-29 |
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| French, Soissons Window, ca. 1205 |
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| Spanish Cloister |
Isabella had exquisite taste in art. She was such a prolific art collector, she built a museum to house and display it. Additionally, the Gardner is also notorious for one of the most infamous art thefts in history. When you visit, don't be alarmed to see empty frames hanging in galleries. The paintings in those frames were stolen and have not been recovered yet. Because Isabella's will stipulates that nothing in the galleries can be changed, the frames remain on display.
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| John Singer Sargent, Mrs. Fiske Warren (Gretchen Osggood) and Her Daughter Rachel, 1903 |
The artist John Singer Sargent was a friend of Isabella's and the first artist in residence at the Gardner. When I visited, the museum had on loan from the Boston Museum of Fine Art a portrait Sargent painted while he was an artist in residence. It was really neat to see the painting exhibited in the room where the artist painted it with the same furniture and such in the room. When you're in Boston, visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum!
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