Photo:Stock Photosfrom ORHAN CAM/Shutterstock
Among the prestigious art collections on United States soil, theJ.
Paul Getty Museumis a modern masterpiece.
Split between two campusestheGetty Villaand theGetty Centerthe collection houses works byVan Gogh, Turner, and countless Old Masters.
Photo:Stock Photosfrom ORHAN CAM/Shutterstock
The Los Angeles museum is also home to thousands of precious antiquities which offer insight into ancient life.
Much like theGuggenheim Museum, the Getty began with the private collection of a billionaire art enthusiast.
Read on to learn more about this dazzling west coast museum.
The Getty Villa (Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri viaWikimedia Commons[CC BY 3.0])
What do you know about the J. Paul Getty Museum?
Scroll down to learn more.
In 1954, he began exhibiting his collection to the public through a gallery built on his property.
The Getty Center. (Photo:Stock Photosfrom KEN WOLTER/Shutterstock)
In 1968, Getty announced the construction of a new building to house his collections.
The Classical-style structure was designed by Robert E. Langdon, Jr. and Ernest C. Wilson, Jr.
It was modeled after the ancient Villa dei Papiri in Italy.
“Modern Rome,” by J.M.W. Turner, 1839. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain])
This structure would become the perfect venue for Getty’s expanding treasure trove of statuary and other ancient artifacts.
TheGetty Villatoday houses the ancient collections.
The Making of a Modern Museum
The Getty Center.
“Irises,” by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain])
Upon Getty’s death, his newly established museum inherited a vast fortune.
The money was used to expand the collections.
In 1983, the Getty Trust purchased land in the hills of Brentwood in L.A.
Photo:Stock Photosfrom ANTON_IVANOV/Shutterstock
The modern buildingdesigned by Richard Meiertook years to design, approve, and build.
The structure became known as the Getty Center and it opened to the public in 1997.
At this time, renovations began on the Getty Villa.
In 2006, the Villa reopened.
The Getty and the Antiquities Trade
Modern Rome, by J.M.W.
(Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain])
What will you see at the Getty?
Irises, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889.
You will also findearly cyanotypesby Anna Atkins and modern images fromMikiko Hara.
The museum even boasts an impressive Decorative Arts collection spanning centuries of craftsmanship.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it had interesting online lecturesincluding ones onaphrodisiacs in medieval timesandPhotography as Revolutionary Aesthetic.
Over 100,000 images areavailable onlinefree to the public, bringing art to the masses wherever they live.
