The massive sculpture of a Lion Attacking a Horse hasn’t left Rome in over 2,000 years, but it feels right at home sitting in the Atrium of the Getty Villa. The giant marble, on loan through January 2013 as part of a new partnership between the Getty Museum and the civic museums of Rome, has long been an inspiration to artists. Its iconic battle of beasts echoes through centuries of art, from a Roman mosaic of a lion attacking a wild ass to a French tapestry showing a leopard mauling a zebra in Brazil, both pieces found in the Getty’s collection.
No other work, however, matches the size or mass of the original. This video, narrated by Claire Lyons, acting senior curator of antiquities at the Museum, takes you behind the scenes as we move 3.5 tons of Greek art into its temporary home.
