(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Pressed Leaf

primary Isabella Stewart Gardner (New York, 1840 - 1924, Boston)

subject Richard Wagner (Leipzig, 1813 - 1883, Venice)

Date21 August 1892

Place MadeBayreuth, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

MediumPressed leaf in a paper envelope with inscription in ink

ClassificationsArchival Material

Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Accession numberARC.007934

eMuseum ID722156

EmbARK ObjectID33708

Other Numberv.1.b.4.3.x

TMS Source ID17189

Last Updated8/9/24

Status

Not on view

Web CommentaryDuring 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.

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

ProvenanceNotesTaken 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).