George Hein, a leading authority on museum education whom the Museum’s Education Department invited as a guest scholar this spring, says that museums are inherently educational. The professor emeritus in the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences at Lesley… More»
The third issue of the Getty Research Journal has just been published. Each year, the Journal presents new research on the Getty’s broad holdings and highlights the diverse interests of our staff and scholars. The journal’s goal is to share… More»
In the entire 500-year history of the printed book, it is difficult to imagine a time of more innovation and change than now. Just a few short years ago, readers had the simple choice of hardback or paperback when they… More»
For 25 years the Getty Research Institute has been inviting scholars from around the world to visit, do research, and ask provocative questions. During his recent stay, Zhu Qingsheng (LaoZhu), director of the Center of Visual Studies at Peking University,… More»
Scholars from as far away as England and Holland and as near as Westwood recently gathered at the Getty Villa to decipher and discuss an enigmatic ancient Greek text inscribed on a now-fragmentary lead tablet. These so-called “Getty Hexameters” date… More»
At a time when we’re accustomed to viewing art in museums—and often in galleries that more or less resemble a white cube—it’s worth thinking back a few centuries to the way many of the paintings and objects in collections like… More»
The scholarly catalogue has long been a critical part of a museum’s mission, providing authoritative information about collection objects for scholars, students, and the general public. Richly illustrated and often based on years of painstaking research, print catalogues form one… More»
What do cutting-edge research into future space travel and the investigation of ancient ceramic pots have in common? More than you’d think. More»
Eighteen months ago we at the Getty Research Institute decided to give our website a complete overhaul. A small group formed and spent the first three months looking through hundreds and hundreds of pages on our site. We talked, and… More»
In 2003 the Getty Research Institute acquired hundreds of 17th-century French prints that had been in the collection of a European noble family. This family had systematically, over hundreds of years, amassed an incredibly important collection of Old Master prints,… More»
Medieval methods of entertainment included sad dances and alienation parties.
Tights are not pants, circa 1400something.