“You will be forgotten. Your image, however, will be immortal. Through it, you will travel far—not by horse and cart, or merchant ship, but through the sky…” More»
J. Paul Getty Museum
What Makes an Artist Great? Curator Scott Schaefer on Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer is a beloved artist. Is he also a great one? More»
A Call to Arms! Heraldry in Renaissance Florence (And a Mystery You Can Help Solve)

Heraldry is a fascinating and complex system by which coats of arms are devised and decoded. My familial arms—yes, my family has a coat of arms, and yours may have too—are composed of an intricate grouping of objects, including a… More»
Church Pews and iPads? Designing “Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance”

When we first started planning for the design of Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance in the fall of 2011, we faced a major challenge: how to deliver the wealth of information we wanted to convey about the artworks…. More»
On the 12 Days of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me…

Illuminated manuscripts are one of my true loves, and as a treat for the 12 days of Christmas, I’d like to share just a few of the glorious things that my true love gave to me this year. On the… More»
Christmas Adventures, from Silver Screen to Gilded Page

I love Christmas movies, from the moment when Natalie Wood is stunned by Santa Claus speaking Dutch in Miracle on 34th Street to Rudolph setting off with Hermey the dentist in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. One of my other great… More»
An Ancient Curse Revealed

One small but powerful object stands out among the artifacts excavated from the ancient city of Morgantina in central Sicily, now on loan to the Getty Villa from the Museo Archeologico Regionale of Aidone and on view in Gallery 104…. More»
Seven Ways of Seeing “Lion Attacking a Horse”

In August, the Greek sculpture Lion Attacking a Horse flew over the back wall of the Getty Villa and took up residence in our Atrium. We have now lived with the sculpture for over three months, and are already lamenting… More»
Developing an Online Scholarly Museum Catalogue

We just launched our first online scholarly catalogue, Ancient Carved Ambers in the J. Paul Getty Museum, available at museumcatalogues.getty.edu/ambers. This catalogue was a collaborative effort between our Publications team, the Museum’s curatorial and conservation staff, and the department I… More»




