ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM PARTICIPATES IN BANK OF AMERICA’S 2022 MASTERPIECE MOMENT VIDEO SERIES

BOSTON, MA (March 22, 2022) — An ancient Roman sarcophagus from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM) takes center stage in the latest installment of Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment program, an ongoing digital video series featuring museum directors from around the globe discussing treasured works of art from their collections. In this most recent video, Peggy Fogelman, the ISGM’s Norma Jean Calderwood Director, shares the nearly 2000 year old "Farnese Sarcophagus," one of the largest and most important works in the Gardner Museum’s collection. 

Dating from around 225 A.D., this monumental funerary sculpture made for a wealthy citizen in Ancient Rome, is carved from a single block of white marble weighing nearly four tons.  Its sides depict a scene of the afterlife — satyrs (minor deities who are part man, part beast) and maenads (female followers of the wine god, Dionysus) gathering grapes for the annual harvest.  The joyful imagery, popular in ancient civilizations, illustrates the cycle of the seasons and of life, reminding the living to “carpe diem,” or seize the day.

“Selecting one work of art from Isabella Stewart Gardner’s vast and varied collection was not easy, but this piece of classical antiquity held special meaning for Isabella, an ardent supporter of the arts and artists,” explains Director Peggy Fogelman. “The Farnese Sarcophagus inspired generations of artists in Italy throughout the Renaissance and beyond, and has continued to do so in Boston for the last century.  We are grateful to Bank of America for allowing us to shine a light on this unique object with new audiences far beyond the Museum’s walls.”

In addition to its remarkable beauty, the history — or, provenance — of the Farnese Sarcophagus through the centuries is equally distinguished.  Unearthed around 1530 in Tivoli, the sarcophagus was acquired by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese who placed the work in the gardens of his celebrated family’s palazzo in Rome.  The work would pass through generations of noble heirs, eventually landing in the Vatican, where it narrowly escaped the looting of antiquities by Napoleon, before returning to the Farnese family.  In 1897, it was sold to an antiquities dealer and brought to the attention of Isabella Stewart Gardner by American scholar Richard Norton who urged her and her husband, John L. Gardner, Jr., to purchase the 7500 lb. work.  Shipped to the U.S. in 1990, it was installed in Fenway Court in 1901, prior to the Museum’s opening in 1903.

“At Bank of America, we believe in the power of the arts to enrich our community and create greater cultural understanding,” said Miceal Chamberlain, President of Bank of America Massachusetts. “The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a unique and unconventional institution, and the many treasures that can be found there inspire, educate and help us see the world in a whole new way.”

Fascinated by this alluring object and its august history, Isabella carefully considered its placement within the Palace, displaying it between two columns alongside the blooming Courtyard in the heart of the Museum.  The Farnese Sarcophagus has remained on view there ever since, until five years ago when the work was temporarily relocated for a special exhibition at the Gardner Museum and its first major conservation treatment and scientific analysis.  At this time, new discoveries were made including traces of original bold colors found on its surface, including most prominently, Egyptian Blue, thought to be the first man-made pigment.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is the fifth museum to take part in Bank of America’s 2022 Masterpiece Moment, following the British Museum, High Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  Twenty-five museums have been chosen to participate this year.  Museum directors are filmed discussing a single work of art, resulting in a 5-7 minute video, posted on Bank of America’s YouTube channel every other Monday (the ISGM video was posted March 21).  Bank of America recognizes the importance of providing digital opportunities for all individuals to connect to arts and culture.  Please find videos Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment - YouTube and more information on Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment here.

Contacts: Dawn Griffin
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
dgriffin@isgm.org
617.275.9529

Carla Molina
Bank of America
carla.molina@bofa.com