The Getty art museum opened in 1997. The parking is $20 but entry is free. This is a very exquisite art museum perched on the top of a hill over looking Los Angeles. I only had time for one hour to visit in early August 2021, but it was very much worth it.
Location
1200 Getty Center Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90049
The museum exhibits centuries old paintings, crafted furniture, statues, and had a special exhibit at this time on medieval books.
BELOW: Full size marble bust. I’ve been to the Vatican museum, which did have a larger extensive display of statues, it becomes overwhelming. But these two upper body busts are absolutely splendid in detail and condition, they really stood out to me in their quality. I’ve tried my own hand at sculpting, and the amount of necessary pre-planning for proportions and the extreme patience to extract details, while being exposed to the resulting dust of the work – it is extremely dedicated work to produce.
- Maria Cerri (who died at age 25 in 1643), so the work is from around 1960
- The male figure is unrelated
BELOW: Wall size paintings. Wonderful lighting and framing, each one having an interesting story to ponder. I am certainly not an expert on paintings, but I do have an opinion: I’m not a huge fan of abstract art, since you can draw anything and then make up a story afterwards. With large detailed art like this, a lot of thought has to go into the desired story to be told and how to proportion things to tell that story.
- Fortune (sitting on a fragile bubble) and Luck (holding lottery tickets)
BELOW: Architecture. One could certainly spend all afternoon enjoying the many aspects of The Getty. I’m very curious what the maintenance costs are, as there is a substantial staff at the train as well as security around the exhibits, plus ground keeping staff.
BELOW: Rooms and Decorations
The furniture is from Louis XIV (France). The small figures are made of “biscuit porcelain”.
BELOW: Medieval books.
Leather bound books of the 14th and 15th century, which tell many interesting stories.
The book below is a story about the rise of good fortune, followed by an inevitable downfall. This cycle is depicted by an actual “wheel of fortune.” These are books from the early 1400, which pre-date the Gutenberg Press. The embedded art is stunning, making me very curious how the proportions were decided and practiced beforehand (if at all).
BELOW: Small wall arts.
I would call these roughly “chest-sized” arts, a bit larger than the upper torso of a person. Not as grand as the full wall sized arts, but nevertheless extensive attention to details.
In tribute to Paul Getty…
