Reviews for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum A Companion Guide and History

The average rating for Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum A Companion Guide and History based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-02-10 00:00:00 Donald Mori I bought and read this book prior to my visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum so that when I was there I knew a little about the pieces in her collection. The book is a great source of information about the rooms and the art but it also covers the life of Isabella Gardner. I recommend buying the book ahead so that you know which pieces of art you really want to concentrate on. The book has color photos of up close shots of the art and photos of the various rooms so that you can see the art in its setting. It is arranged by floor (there are three) and then by room and finally by the individual piece, making it very easy to use and it is a great size for carrying with you through the museum. The history in the book is excellent and gives a great overview of Isabella's life and pursuit of art.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-11-11 00:00:00 KEVIN BUTLER I had the opportunity to visit the Isaballa Stewart Gardner Museum recently and I got this book while I was there. The museum is a wonderful collection of art in an equally wonderful building/setting. We took a tour of the museum and I look back at that as essential for a guy like me to have art and its surroundings explained. Not only the beauty and technical parts of art are explained, but why they are in this certain room, and how the light is allowed in the room and at what angle it hits the art and why. All these bits of info help one appreciate the art more. The book follows through the whole museum and gives the history of the beginnings and its continued collection of the art. The only problem with the book is that the art is difficult to see in the book because it is so downsized to fit in the pages. I found though that to more fully appreciate the art, which is the center of the museum, a person has to visit the museum, take a tour, and read about it if possible. There could be no end. You could read more about the art and the founder of the museum as well. The history of Ms. Gardner herself is fascinating. You could read about the artists and their art. This is a stretch, you could work at or volunteer to work at the museum as well. All these things would bring you to a greater understanding of the whole package. Obviously only a few people could do all these things. I only say these things because each step or level you go to, would bring you a greater appreciation of the art. I think the greater appreciation would be worth the motions you went through to achieve it. This was a first time thing for me. Before, if I went to a museum, I never got past the "Oh wow, look at that, that's a famous one huh?" This book took me further into knowing what I was looking at and enjoying it more, even than the tour we took. And the tour was great. The book made that better.