Tag: house museum

Postcard from Trieste, Italy: Nightmarish end to palatial dreams

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An Italian postage stamp featuring a scenic view of the Miramare Gardens in Trieste, showcasing neatly trimmed hedges, a statue, and a fountain against a background of trees and the sea.

Above: Miramare, a palace erected by Princess Charlotte of Belgium and Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria

At age 22, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian (1832-1867) was named Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Navy. Sailing in 1855 in the Gulf of Trieste, then ruled by the Kingdom of Austria, the young archduke spotted a promontory jutting out into the water. Barren, rocky, yet a gorgeous waterfront view on three sides. He decided to acquire the land for his home.

Construction of the house, which he named Miramare, was already underway at the time of his 1857 marriage to Princess Charlotte of Belgium (1840-1927). Also in 1857, his older brother, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830-1916), appointed Maximilian Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia.

The couple moved into the Royal Palace of Milan while continuing work on Miramare. Charlotte’s royal dowry contributed to the money-pit project, including bringing in tons of dirt and topsoil for extensive gardens. Surrounded by all the requisite family portraits, the couple moved into their completed dream home in 1860.

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Postcard from London, England: Painter’s former home exotic as a peacock

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Above: Staircase hall in the Leighton House, Holland Park, Kensington, London

My parents surrounded me with every facility to learn drawing, but, strongly discountenanced the idea of my being an artist unless I could be eminent in art.”

Lord Frederic Leighton, 1879

From a wealthy family, Frederic Leighton (1830-1896) traveled extensively throughout Europe and exotic countries bordering the Mediterranean. He studied art in France, Germany and Italy and emerged an artist of striking talent on the fast track toward “eminence.” In 1855, Leighton exhibited his first major painting at the Royal Academy in London and scored a monumental sale.

There was a very big picture by a man called Leighton. It is a beautiful painting, quite reminding one of a Paul Veronese, so bright and full of light. Albert was enchanted with it—so much so that he made me buy it.”

Diary entry of Queen Victoria, 1855

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Postcard from Amsterdam, Netherlands: Making room at the table

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Above: House of Vineyard exhibition reacted and related to historic artifacts in the Abraham and Louisa Willet-Holthuysen House Museum.

Historically, the voices and experiences of Black and Brown femme queens have often been marginalized. But their resilience, courage, and unyielding spirit have paved the way for progress both off and on the runway…. In the dining room, we honor five queens who not only fought for a seat at the table, but created their own.”

House of Vineyard curator notes for temporary contemporary art exhibition

Keeping a house museum fresh, appealing and relevant to diverse audiences is extremely difficult, speaking as someone who had chaired a committee running one. I wish my visit to the Abraham and Louisa Willet-Holthuysen House Museum, a house built on the Herengracht Canal in 1685, had been years earlier.

Instead of keeping its collection static, the house museum stimulates repeat visitation by weaving thoughtfully curated contemporary art throughout its rooms. Often times, house museums are filled with gray-hairs, but not everyone there had our same color hair. The House of Vineyard’s “Grand March: A Historic House through a Ballroom Lens” attracted a diverse, youthful group. And it worked. All ages appeared interested in both the old and the new.

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