What’s your favorite part of visiting the Getty Villa Museum?
We’re celebrating the Getty Villa’s 50th all this month on Get Inspired—and this week we wanted to hear from you, the people we serve, about what we’re getting right. We recently asked a sampling of visitors, “What really stood out to you during your visit?” Find out if they love what you love, or discover something new!
Yesom poses with Seated Woman with Divine Attributes, about 50 CE. Getty Museum
How ancient Romans would have used the Villa’s herb garden
The Herb Garden at the Getty Villa features plants grown in ancient times for their religious significance and use in cooking and medicine. Thyme, oregano, basil, and other herbs are arranged in long beds; fruit trees bearing plums, apricots, figs, and peaches grow nearby, along with a grape arbor and more herbs. How, exactly, was each plant used?
Images of pomegranates decorated ancient temples and appeared on ancient coins. The juice was used as both a pigment and delicious drink.
NEW ON VIEW
Drawing on Blue
Through April 28, 2024 Getty Center
Artists started using blue paper in the 15th century. As a middle tone, it allowed them to easily model forms in light and dark and highlight with colored chalks. Through new technical examination of drawings in Getty’s collection, this exhibition offers fresh insight into blue paper’s unique contribution to artistic practice from the 15th through 18th centuries.
A Muse, mid-1720s, Rosalba Carriera. Pastel on blue paper. Getty Museum
ART & ARCHITECTURE
The Black knight of the Round Table
The medieval world was a much more diverse place than you’d think. Some of the best evidence of this is in artworks from the period, including images of a Black patron saint of the German holy Roman empire, a Black knight of the Round Table, and Hua Mulan, a Chinese woman who dressed in men’s clothing and became a soldier.
Saint Maurice in the Halle Relic Book (detail), 1526–27, possibly by Simon Franck. Hofbibliothek, Ms. 14, fol. 227v
FAMILY FUN
Light Catcher Family Workshop
Sundays, February 11 and 25, 11:00 am Getty Center, Museum Entrance Hall
Create your own light catcher inspired by Getty’s stained-glass collection and discover how to make art using light and color with artist Stephanie Godoy.
Anatomy of Lucas Cranach’s Adam & Eve: A Case Study in Conservation
Saturday, February 17, 2:00–4:30 pm Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium, and Zoom
Lucas Cranach the Elder painted some of the most seductive images of the early 16th century. A recent conservation project to clean and study his Adam and Eve from the Norton Simon Museum of Art provided a rare opportunity to investigate how Cranach produced such large panel paintings and the technique behind his sinuous painting style. Experts involved in the multi-year conservation project discuss their fascinating findings.
Lucas Cranach the Elder’s paintings in Getty’s paintings conservation studio, 2023. Adam and Eve, about 1530, Lucas Cranach the Elder. Oil on panel. Norton Simon Art Foundation, Pasadena, California
The Decorated Page: The Arts of the Book in the Persian World
Sunday, February 25, 2:00 pm Getty Center, Museum Lecture Hall, and Zoom
From discreet markings on early Qur’an folios to dazzling illustrations in historical texts, color has served as a defining feature in the art of Iranian books. Focusing on the 15th and 16th centuries, this presentation by Smithsonian curator Massumeh Farhad examines the careful preparation and application of pigments and their role within the context of Persian manuscripts. Complements Drawing on Blue.
Page of Calligraphies, Safavid period, 16th century, Iranian. Ink, color, and gold on paper. National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Purchase—Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, S1986.347
AROUND TOWN
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
March 20–24
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: 20% off Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday 7:30 pm performances only in Main Orchestra, Front Orchestra Ring, Orchestra Ring, and Main Founders. Offer valid through March 8 and based on availability. Access your exclusive offer online, in person, or call (213) 972-0711 with the code AAGETTY.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Paul Kolnik, 2021
FRAMED
Sometimes a window frames a view just so, turning it into a work of art.
“Last summer I had the great fortune of staying in a friend’s house on San Juan Island, Washington, and was struck by how these windowpanes turned the bedroom view into six framed landscapes. I took this photo in the early evening, a time when the ocean calmed and reflected shell-pink sunsets. Sometimes an otter sailed past, leaving a V-shaped wake, or a bald eagle glided overhead—a painter’s enlivening details.”
—Jennifer Roberts
Have a window-framed scene “hanging” on your wall? Did you snap one somewhere else? Send us the photo! Include your name, camera used, location, and anything else you’d like to share. stories@getty.edu
View across the Haro Strait toward the Canadian city of Victoria. Photo by Jennifer Roberts. iPhone 12
CONNECT WITH US
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