Little Salon

This fanciful space epitomizes the internationalism of the Rococo, uniting French paintings, Italian furnishings, and German sculpture. Figures of cupids dance on frames, and vines twist their way through door frames and around paintings. Lavish floor-to-ceiling tapestries featuring scenes of pleasure gardens and stately châteaux fill the walls like windows onto a fairy tale. Smaller-scale objects and cases contribute to the intimacy of this space. The Little Salon was probably one of the last to be finalized by Isabella. This room emerged as its own space in 1914 but Gardner continued to move works of art into, out of, and around it, trying out and fine-tuning its arrangement until her death in 1924.