JJK at The Getty Villa (#15 Revisited)

I talked JJK into going to both the Getty Villa and the Getty Center.  I had never been to the Villa so I thought it might be interesting for everyone - plus pay once, park twice = awesome.

We started at the Villa because they require (free) timed tickets for entry.  I thought we could go there first and spend as much time as we wanted (lots or little) and then head to the Getty Center.

The Getty Villa is modeled after a first-century Roman country house in Herculaneum, Italy (btw Herculaneum is the less famous city that was preserved by the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD).

The Getty Villa houses a collection of ancient Roman and Greek antiquities.

Jaiden was pretty sure this was the vase from Disney's Hercules:

Not quite sure what to make of this turkey.


No Bull, they had some pretty cool stuff.

Like pony-tailed statues

Hulk.  SMASH.

Snake-legged Giant (which seems weird because while Giants do have legs, snakes don't)

I'm pretty sure this is the basis for the Harry Potter hippogriff.

Bird People

And even a mummy:

They also have several gardens, as fancy Roman villas are wont to do

Awesome architectural embellishments

(This is the ceiling of the portico)

And another Children's Room for the teenagers to play in

Jaiden at Marathon

The main garden with pool is pretty great - even though the pool was empty .. thanks drought.

Jaiden decided to plank on the hand rail


Kolten practicing to be a statue:


Jodi practicing the same:

I wish we'd been a little more on the spot.  There was a guy in the background sprawled out on the floor of the porch in this same position taking serious pictures.  We cracked up and Jodi had to recreate it.

There was also a family doing family photos that just reinforced my natural inclination for candid photos.  The pictures were mostly of two really cute little girls, but the dad kept up a half-shouting commentary to his girls for: hands down, dresses down, mouth closed, smile, smile bigger, not that much, do this, look here, don't say cheese, etc. It was both humorous and very annoying.  I maintain that with pictures that are to posed you lose everything about that age, and those moments that you want to remember.  I mean, have you seen the photo of the 3 oldest nubbins during a particular rough posed photo session.  I love it so much, and the "perfect shot" would never have been as perfect as this.

Jaiden decided to bust out some Singing in the Rain type moves:








Jodi had to show her how it's done.



This statue totally reminds me of Jaiden after she eats a big meal and complains about her food baby.


Inappropriate Statue Alert:

This was totally an accidental angle.

This was not as accidental

Our visit to The Getty Center is up next.

The Getty - Revisited (#15)

The Getty was one of the earliest Places I visited, even before I officially knew The List existed.  It was a museum I was introduced to on a visit to Southern California (to see some family) and fell in love with it.  For several years, I would fly out and over a weekend visit The Huntington and The Getty and then fly back to Utah.  

Back then, I though I would chose 3 of the best pictures and just post those to commemorate my visit.  Obviously, that practice has been file-13ed so let me share some pictures from other visits as well.


The Getty is a spectacular architectural wonder.  I love the brilliant white marble and highly reflective glass.  





There is also a stunning garden.  Sometimes I forget about it because it pales in comparison to the acres at The Huntington, but it is an lovely oasis in its own right.












My favorite exhibits:

The blue room.  A room entirely recreated inside the museum.


Sunrise, Claude Monet


La Promenade, Pierre-Auguste Renoir


Wheatstacks, Snow Effect, Morning; Claude Monet


Irises, Vincent Van Gogh (probably my favorite painting in the collection)


I love the combination of these two works.  A good curator can really complement and enhance great works through their placement within a collection.  It reminds me of how impressed I was with the curating at the MNAC in Barcelona.


Laocoon, Giovanni Battista Foggini
This was the first piece of art that I learned about in a classroom and then was able to see in person.  There is nothing that can described feeling of turning around and seeing something you've dreamed about after seeing it in pictures.  

I search out this sculpture every time I am here to relive that moment, and continue to have those moments as I travel the world.  
This is where Cortney makes fun of me for telling her to stand there and feel her breathe (her being Nike of Samothrace) when she goes to Paris this fall, but for me, at least, great art is all about the emotion you feel when experiencing it (not to ignore the technical aspects of greatness, but the punched-in-the-face-emotion...yeah, I get it, and yeah, it make me all teary and emotional).

And Cortney can make fun of me all she wants, but I will bet that thanks to me she can tell you who painted this:



Hint:  It's him:



This chandelier is far and away my favorite piece in the decorative arts exhibit.  There are several really close runners-up, but this is the best.  It is French, early 19th century, and inspired by a hot air balloon.  The blue and gold represent the the heavens with the 12 zodiac signs circle the gilt band. The part that makes it my favorite - the glass bowl was designed to hold live goldfish!  Love it!

One of those close runners up - The Blue Bed





And the pink bed:

I really think we should bring back this couch/bed design. It would really take my weekends to a whole new level.


And lastly, my favorite piece in the outdoor sculpture garden is Delusions of Grandeaur, Renee Margritte:


I love Magritte overall, and this piece in particular.  I was fortunate enough, as well, to see the companion painting in Houston when I visited the The Menil Collection.



By the time we circled around to the plaza cafe it had closed for the day (despite not even being 1:30), so we had to venture to the regular cafe...a place I had never been despite my repeated visits to the museum.  We closed out the visit in my typical fashion... a $12 lunch 

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followed by a couple of hours of intense people watching on the plaza.  It was magnificent.