Monday, March 14, 2011

Antiquities at the Getty Villa

J. Paul Getty was an eccentric Oil baron who loved art and had a special interest in antiquity. When his art collection was small, he displayed it for friends visiting his home. Later, when the collection got too large and had to be relocated he build a museum wing on to his house. Later when the collection outgrew the addition, he decided to build an exact replica of a Roman villa that had been uncovered during the excavations of Herculaneum. Oddly, Getty was living in London when the construction started and died before he ever saw the finished product.

The property was given to the Getty Trust which open the villa in 1976 and the associated Getty Center in 1997. The Villa property houses antiquities and the Center the rest of Getty’s art collection.

Visiting the villa is quite an experience if you allow yourself to be drawn back in time to the first century A.D. The Villa is enormous with a very large garden pool to the west of it. To me, the structure looks a bit out of context because it stands alone as a style dissimilar to its surroundings.

Still, the collection is wonderful: both sculpture and pottery. The pottery is first rate with some four thousand year old pieces.

The Link below will take you to my photo album of the Villa.

Getty Villa Photo Album

1 comment:

layana resort and spa koh lanta said...

Entering the Getty Villa is like time traveling back to the Roman Empire era. The atmosphere of the place and the Roman artworks made this a place worth visiting specially for those who love the Roman culture and history.