El Jaleo

I went to Boston this week and finally made it to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  I've been wanting to go for ages but it's only open 6 hours a day, five days a week.  This does not work when I usually only have free time in the evenings.  I rushed there after a meeting and had a full 50 minutes to wander through.

It's a gorgeous museum.  I had no idea what to expect but every single inch of the house is full of important and beautiful works of art. 

This is El Jaleo by John Singer Sargent and it is breathtaking. I just finished reading The Greater Journey where this work is described as one of Sargent's masterpieces.  It's a living painting.  You can't help but feel the atmosphere and the movement of the dancing.

These are pictures of the courtyard which just overwhelmed me.  The museum is three floors full of works of art and this is seen from every window.  It's one of the most beautiful museums I have ever seen.

And on the walk back to the hotel, I passed by the Museum of Fine Arts where I saw these.

I've seen other works in this series right outside the Madrid train station.