Drapery—artfully folded fabric—has been used by European artists for centuries, from ancient Greek sculpture to contemporary photography. As I prepare for the studio course I’m leading this Wednesday on sketching drapery after the Old Masters, I’ve been thinking about...
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I’m always amazed when science can provide a new glimpse into the life and works of an artist who lived long before my time. It makes me feel closer to the artist’s intention to be able to understand how he...
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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...
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Kathryn Gleason is an expert on Roman gardens and a pioneer in the field of garden archaeology, an exciting and relatively new field. In advance of her lecture on Roman gardens this Saturday at the Getty Villa, she spoke...
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“A living, pulsing world” is what composer, cellist, and vocalist Bonfire Madigan Shive set out to create with her music for the Villa’s outdoor production of Elektra. Though it’s been described as haunting and subtle, the sound is also...
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After a cool early summer, toasty picnic weather has finally arrived in L.A. The Getty is a great place for outdoor eats—this weekend, the Center is open Saturday and Sunday, and the Villa is open all three days, including...
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What do you do at the Getty? I’m a designer. My work includes graphics, or 2-D design, as well as 3-D design-such as furniture, interiors, and architectural drawing. Our department, Design, is unique for a cultural institution because we...
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Digging for fire at the Getty Research Institute’s recent symposium Vivísimo Muerto: Debates on Surrealism in Latin America, I recalled Guillaume Apollinaire’s thoughts on what I believe to be the essence of Surrealism: “When man wanted to make a...
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Mexican cooking as we know and love it in the U.S.—moles, carne asada, burritos, cafe con leche, loads of melty cheese—would have been unrecognizable to the Aztecs. They didn’t have cows, pigs, sugar, cheese, butter, cinnamon, or wheat. They...
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Old media artifacts like silent films are traditionally thought of as being windows into their individual moments in time. But when they portray another era still—like the ancient world—they serve as a kind of mirror, telling the story of...
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The films we screen at the Getty go hand in hand with the art on view. Curating film series related to exhibitions is exciting, but it can also be challenging. How, for example, do you plan a movie event...
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The premise of The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of Empire is a unique one: that just as classical antiquity colored Spanish perceptions of Mesoamerica, the experience of Aztec civilization piqued curiosity about Renaissance Europe’s own ancient heritage. As...
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