Boston’s Top 10 : Museum of Fine Arts

La Japonaise

Claude
Monet’s 1876 portrait reflects a time when Japanese culture fascinated
Europe’s most style-conscious circles. The model, interestingly, is
Monet’s wife, Camille.

Japanese Temple Room

With
its wood paneling and subdued lighting, the Temple Room evokes ancient
Japanese shrines atop mist-enshrouded mountains. The statues, which date
from as early as the seventh century, depict prominent figures from
Buddhist texts.

John Singer Sargent Murals

Having
secured some of Sargent’s most important portraiture in the early-20th
century, the MFA went one step further and commissioned the artist to
paint murals and bas-reliefs on its central rotunda and colonnade.

John Singleton Copley Portraits

The
self-taught, Boston-born Copley made a name for himself by painting the
most affluent and influential Bostonians of his day, from
pre-Revolutionary figures like John Hancock to early American
presidents.

Egyptian Royal Pectoral

This
extremely rare chest ornament is nearly 4,000 years old. A vulture is
depicted with a cobra on its left wing, ready to strike. This
juxtaposition symbolized the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Statue of King Aspelta

This
statue of the great 6th-century BC Nubian king, Aspelta, was recovered
in 1920 at Nuri in present-day Sudan during a MFA/Harvard joint
expedition.

Postman Joseph Roulin

The MFA boasts some
of Vincent van Gogh’s most important work, including this 1888 oil,
which was painted during his stay in Arles, France.

Silverwork by Paul Revere

Famed for his midnight ride, Revere was also known for his masterful silverwork. The breadth of his ability is apparent in the museum’s 200-piece collection.

Dance at Bougival

This endearing image
(1883) of a couple dancing is among Renoir’s most beloved works. It
exemplifies the artist’s knack for taking a timeless situation and
modernizing it by dressing his subjects in the latest fashions.

Christ in Majesty with Symbols

Acquired in 1919 from a
small Spanish church, this medieval fresco had an amazingly complex
journey to Boston, which involved waterproofing it with lime and
Parmesan for safe transport.

Art of Asia

For
Japanese art connoisseurs, the museum offers a dizzying overview of
Japan’s multiple artistic forms. In fact, the MFA holds the largest
collection of ancient Japanese art outside of Japan. In addition to the
tranquil Temple Room,
with its centuries-old Buddhist statues, visitors should admire the
beautiful hanging scrolls and woodblock prints, with their magical,
dramatic landscapes and spirited renderings of everyday life. Kurasawa
fans will be enthralled by the menacing samurai weaponry. Additionally,
the Art of Asia collection boasts exquisite objects from 2,000 years of
Chinese, Indian, and Southeast Asian history, including sensuous ivory
figurines, pictorial carpets, and vibrant watercolors.

Art of Egypt, Nubia, & the Ancient Near East

This
collection is a treasure trove of millennia-old Egyptian sarcophagi,
tomb finds, and Nubian jewelry and objects from everyday life. The
assemblage of Egyptian funerary pieces, including beautifully-crafted
jewelry and intact ceramic urns is awe-inspiring. Ancient Near Eastern
artifacts, with their bold iconography and rich materials, illustrate
why the region was known as the Cradle of Civilization.

Classical Art

The
remarkable Classical Art Collection has a hoard of gold bracelets,
glass, mosaic bowls, and stately marble busts. One of the earliest
pieces is a c.1500 BC gold axe, inscribed with symbols from a
still-undeciphered Cretan language.

American Art to 1900

The
MFA houses the world’s finest collection of colonial New England
furniture. The museum also showcases rare 17th-century American
portraiture and works from the country’s own “Old” Masters, including
Copley, Stuart, Cole, Sargent, Cassat, Homer, and many others.

European Art to 1900

From 12th-century tempera baptism scenes to Claude Monet’s Haystacks,
the MFA’s European collection is staggeringly diverse. Painstakingly
transferred medieval stained-glass windows, beautifully illuminated
bibles, and delicate French tapestries are displayed alongside works by
Old Masters: Titian, El Greco, Rembrandt, and Rubens. The superlative
Impressionist collection boasts the likes of Monet, Renoir, Degas, and
Cézanne.

Textile & Fashion Arts

Rotating
displays highlight pictorial quilts, period fashions, fine Persian
rugs, and pre-colonial Andean weavings. Particularly interesting are the
museum’s holdings of textiles and costumes from the Elizabethan and
Stuart periods – an unprecedented 1943 donation from the private
collection of Elizabeth Day McCormick.

Contemporary Art

Given
Boston’s affinity for the traditional, you might be surprised by this
world-class collection of contemporary and late-20th century art,
including works by Chuck Close and Jackson Pollock.

Musical Instruments

Priceless
17th-century guitars, ornately inlaid pianos, and even a mouth organ
are on view to visitors of the MFA. Among the more distinctive pieces is
the c.1796 English grand piano – the earliest extant example of a piano
with a six-octave range – and a 1680 French guitar by the Voboam
workshop.

Art of Africa, Oceania, & the Ancient Americas

Pre-colonial
artifacts from these collections include Melanese canoe ornaments,
dramatic Congolese bird sculptures, and Mayan burial urns. The African
art collection’s most popular display is the powerful looking 19th/and
20th-century wooden masks. Hieroglyphic texts painted on Mayan ceramics
can also be seen.

“Please be Seated!” Installations

One
of the country’s most comprehensive collections of American
contemporary furniture is interspersed throughout the MFA’s galleries.
The museum encourages visitors to not only admire these furniture
pieces, but to sit on them, too. Take a break and have a seat on fine
American handiwork by designers such as Maloof, Castle, and Eames.