It was a beautiful day to visit the Getty Villa. It's the "old Getty," which was closed for several years for renovations. Mom and I went to the "new Getty" on something like the 7th day it was open. We'd been here years and years ago. The herb gardens are in much better shape than they were there.
My foot at the center of the universe. Just one of the amazing floors in this reproduction of a villa found buried under ash in Herculanium, Italy.
Detail of a fountain in the east garden. Beautiful colors and patterns.
Detail of one of the trompe l'oiel walls. This is one of those museums where the building is as much of an attraction as the artwork. Which is rather like some of the best European museums.
There's so much attention to detail. Even these electric lamps with Medusa heads molded into their bottoms.
And the displays are of a manageable scope. You can get through the whole thing in a leisurely one and a half to two hour visit and not feel you've rushed or missed anything.
I took this one to show the thin panel of marble behind this statue, which allows light from outside to glow into the room. I remembered this as one of the more magical features of the villa from my last visit maybe 15-20 years ago, but there was no mention of it in the room. I wondered if I'd just dreamed it.
But no, I asked one of the docents, who was delighted to confirm that the sheet of marble here is only about 1 inch thick and that it's lit only by sunlight.
Perhaps my favorite work of art today. If you are lucky enough to visit the family room when there are no kids around, you'll feel comfortable doing as we did and decorating one of the vases that's there.
The figures in the middle of this vase were drawn in by Hydra, who has the advantage of a lot of knowledge of ancient art under his belt. Pretty cool, huh?
My lion was pretty sad. Mom did some nice patterns, but erased hers too quickly!
Cool Thing: We stopped at Patrick's Roadhouse for a bite to eat to kill time before the museum opened. We made great time. It's a fun little place I'd go back to on purpose, especially knowing the history now. The Arnold Swartzenegger chair is no longer pulled up to a table, but that's really okay by me.
3 comments:
I keep meaning to go see the old Getty before they have to give back the rest of their collection. I don't know why we haven't gone.
Patrick's Roadhouse, however, I could manage to avoid for the rest of time without ever feeling like I'd missed anything.
Sounds like a great day and such lovely photos!
LOL about the Schwarzenegger chair. I need to go check out the stuff. I haven't gone to see the villa yet. Do you get to keep the vase or is it just wash off paint? That'd be cool if you could keep it!
Liz-
The markings you add just wipe off the vases. But that would be a great thing for them to sell in the gift shop...small versions of these vases to decorate yourself at home!
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