Whenever we have guests visit, we always, always take them to the
Getty Center off the 405. It is one of the most amazing examples of architecture I have ever seen. The view of the city is absolutely incomparable. There is also, of course, the art. But this post is not about the Getty Center. It's about the Getty Villa. The Getty Villa is the original J. Paul Getty Museum. When the collection outgrew it's home, the Getty Center was built. The Villa was completed in 1974, and now houses the antiquities portion of the Getty collection. It is modeled after the partially-excavated Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, that had been buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. While it is free to get into both museums, for the Villa you must make a reservation ahead of time as admission is limited. Below is a photo of the entrance to the Getty Villa.
We arrived and had lunch, then dove head first into the collections. There are many pieces from the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan civilizations, some more than 5000 years old. They were all breathtaking. The artistry and craftsmanship is unbelievable, and we took hundreds of photos. Below is a photograph of one of the most famous statues in the collection, of Herakles (Hercules). The floor in this room is a recreation of one from the Villa dei Papiri, and is composed of over 7000 individual marble tiles.
The photo below is of a fountain that is based on one uncovered in the "House of the Large Fountain" in Pompeii. Any detail that couldn't come directly from the Villa dei Papiri was taken from other Roman villas of the time. This fountain is covered with colorful tiles and seashells, and on each side you can see the greek theatre masks.
J. Paul Getty was adamant that the gardens be as accurate as possible, right down to having a working herb garden as would be found in a true Roman villa. There are two main outdoor garden areas in the Getty Villa, the inner Peristyle and the outer Peristyle. Where you see a statue, there had been a statue found in that spot in the ruins of the original Villa in Italy. Truly remarkable! Here I am standing in front of the pool in the inner Peristyle. In the original villa, the pool in the outer Peristyle was 4 meters deep and likely contained fish that were raised for the household to consume.
We spent about 5 hours in total combing through the myraid collections and examining the gardens. There is so much more to learn! You can easily get overwhelmed in a single trip. Afterwards we drove to Ventura to have dinner with Jay's workmate Linda. Linda is a fascinating woman. She lived in Turkey for a little over 20 years, and has had so many experiences in life! Dinner with her was wonderful, we were incredibly well-entertained. As you can imagine, we were exhausted and enjoyed a Sunday of doing absolutely nothing at all. I leave you with a dark image of us in the Atrium of the Villa. Behind us is a little pool. In a true Roman Villa, the atrium was open to the sky and this small pool collected rain water that drained into a cistern below. This water was then pumped throughout the home, so that the Roman nobility could enjoy running water. Nice! I also ask my friends out there to note that my husband's hair is getting a little too out of control. Please feel free to mount an email campaign encouraging him to get his hair cut. I beg you.
We arrived and had lunch, then dove head first into the collections. There are many pieces from the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan civilizations, some more than 5000 years old. They were all breathtaking. The artistry and craftsmanship is unbelievable, and we took hundreds of photos. Below is a photograph of one of the most famous statues in the collection, of Herakles (Hercules). The floor in this room is a recreation of one from the Villa dei Papiri, and is composed of over 7000 individual marble tiles.
The photo below is of a fountain that is based on one uncovered in the "House of the Large Fountain" in Pompeii. Any detail that couldn't come directly from the Villa dei Papiri was taken from other Roman villas of the time. This fountain is covered with colorful tiles and seashells, and on each side you can see the greek theatre masks.
J. Paul Getty was adamant that the gardens be as accurate as possible, right down to having a working herb garden as would be found in a true Roman villa. There are two main outdoor garden areas in the Getty Villa, the inner Peristyle and the outer Peristyle. Where you see a statue, there had been a statue found in that spot in the ruins of the original Villa in Italy. Truly remarkable! Here I am standing in front of the pool in the inner Peristyle. In the original villa, the pool in the outer Peristyle was 4 meters deep and likely contained fish that were raised for the household to consume.
We spent about 5 hours in total combing through the myraid collections and examining the gardens. There is so much more to learn! You can easily get overwhelmed in a single trip. Afterwards we drove to Ventura to have dinner with Jay's workmate Linda. Linda is a fascinating woman. She lived in Turkey for a little over 20 years, and has had so many experiences in life! Dinner with her was wonderful, we were incredibly well-entertained. As you can imagine, we were exhausted and enjoyed a Sunday of doing absolutely nothing at all. I leave you with a dark image of us in the Atrium of the Villa. Behind us is a little pool. In a true Roman Villa, the atrium was open to the sky and this small pool collected rain water that drained into a cistern below. This water was then pumped throughout the home, so that the Roman nobility could enjoy running water. Nice! I also ask my friends out there to note that my husband's hair is getting a little too out of control. Please feel free to mount an email campaign encouraging him to get his hair cut. I beg you.
2 comments:
NO, Don't listen Jay!! I am hoping for LONGER....
Love the hair!
Nice! I would love to come visit you some non-June month stay long enough for you to take me to the Getty Villa and wine country. :-)
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