Through their work, the Museum’s group of work-study college students gain an intimate knowledge of the MFA’s collection on view. The 2021–22 Ambassadors have written a series of essays on the artworks that resonate with them the most. Some objects are cherished favorites; others present challenges. These insightful essays present new, unexpected, and thoughtful perspectives on some familiar works found throughout the Museum’s galleries.
Cayambe
Diana Fernandez
Whenever I look at all the amazing landscapes on the second floor of MFA’s Art of the Americas Wing, I’m always drawn to one painting in particular…
Piz Bernina, Switzerland
Nina Foster
Growing up, I was lucky enough to hike all over the country with family and friends, and to absorb their enthusiasm for the outdoors. I cherished…
Translated Vase
Kelly Guo
I chose to write about Translated Vase (2011), a contemporary sculpture by Yee Sookyung. The object is made of ceramic fragments of contemporary vases…
Raven Steals the Moon
Julia Joyce
Here is how I explain the layout of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to visitors in a hurry: “It’s separated by area of the world.” Except, it is not…
Shepard Parlor
Matthew Lopes
As you walk through the galleries on the first floor of the Art of Americas Wing, you may find yourself in rooms full of furniture and paintings. If…
Flowers in a Terracotta Vase
Martina Lopez
I moved to Boston in the summer of 2021. Perhaps moving 3,000 miles away to start graduate school in the midst of a global pandemic was not ideal, but…
Head of Medusa
Mary Rocha
The #MeToo movement has brought cultures of sexual abuse and exploitation into the limelight. Historically, victims of abuse have been encouraged, if…
Pitcher
Lybille Rocher
I first came across the pitcher by accident. I was new at the MFA, and my coworker was showing me funky objects most people don’t come to see in the…
The Bodhisattva of the Earth Matrix
Anek Yen
I immediately rushed over to the new galleries for art of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Byzantine Empire when I found out they were finally open. I…
Connection
Jude Yoder
In the MFA’s “Impressionism and Beyond” gallery, portraits of a husband and wife hang alongside one another. Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) painted…