Object details

Object number

ARC.007934

Creator(s)

• Isabella Stewart Gardner (New York, 1840 - 1924, Boston) - primary
• Richard Wagner (Leipzig, 1813 - 1883, Venice) - subject

Title

Pressed Leaf in an Envelope: Wagner's Grave

Date

21 August 1892

Medium

Pressed leaf in a paper envelope with inscription in ink

Language

English

Signatures, inscriptions, and markings

Inscribed in ink (on envelope): Wagner's grave / August 21 - / 1892.

Provenance

Taken by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the German composer Richard Wagner's grave site in Bayreuth, Germany, 21 August 1892. Enclosed in Isabella Stewart Gardner's Travel Album: Italy, Germany, and France, 1892 (v.1.b.4.3).

Commentary

During Isabella’s lifetime, German composer Richard Wagner was at the epicenter of the classical music world. Isabella admired Wagner’s work and went to great lengths to see his performances. She traveled many times to Bayreuth, where Wagner hosted an annual music festival, and attended his operas in the United States and Europe. On her 1892 visit to Bayreuth, Isabella collected an ivy leaf from Wagner’s grave. She tucked it into an envelop and kept it in her travel album for that trip.

Gallery

Vatichino

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