I just spent a large part of the day at The Getty Villa in The Pacific Palisades. If you live in LA you know that this recreation of a Roman villa houses one of the best collections of Greek and Roman art in the United States.
My favorite room is the one containing the busts. This Roman bronze (above) is extraordinary when you see it up close. The face shows a man full of grit, someone who spits in the face of adversity and refuses to buckle under.
Yikes! I'm paying the price for not reading the inscriptions. Who is this man? Alexander? Maybe it's nobody well-known, but he dominates the room.
This (above) is simply a highly individuated balding man.
A fascinating likeness (above)! Who is this man?
This is Commodus, the dissolute son of Marcus Aurelius. I thought Bernini invented this ultra-smooth, beautifully mannered technique, but I guess he didn't.
I've seen this face (above) many times on modern men in present day Los Angeles, yet here it is, on a bust more than 2,000 years old.
Here's (above) "The Charioteer," which celebrates the victory in a race of Rome's most popular charioteer.
I'm wondering if the real life charioteer paid for this sculpture (above) out of his own pocket. How else to account for the obvious "Chick Magnet" appeal of the shapes? You should have seen how the women in the museum reacted to this statue.
Above, another bearded man.
Here's (above) a stunningly charming female face. The sculptor must have admired his subject, maybe he even fell in love with her. It looks like something Carpeaux would have done 1500 years later.
Above, a couple of artifacts from Greek theater. The Getty has more painted items like this, but photography in those rooms was forbidden.
3 comments:
I love how well preserved those heads are! Besides for the Egyptian pyramids and the Chinese terra cotta soldiers, those sculptures from Ancient Greece and Rome are among the most well preserved artifacts ever.
Have you seen the TV show Spartacus by any chance? Howard Stern mentioned the show the other day in this pathetic clip and it kind of piqued my interest a bit actually. Too bad it's on a channel that I barely know anything about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyhPJfWnGEY
Another thing that's been really interesting me that I've been wanting to see is that new movie from HBO called Behind The Candelabra that I'm probably gonna watch tomorrow online on HBO's streaming website involving Liberace. Maybe I'll give my opinion on it later on.
Roberto: I saw the Liberace film! It had a plot similar to "The Master," if you saw that recent film.
You have to sit through a lot of male kissing scenes, which I was able to do only by keeping my hand infront of my eyes, but the film had a surprisingly thoughtful premise and the acting was good.
Sparticus? I didn't know there was a TV show about that. I'll check out the link!
Sarah: Sorry, I accidentally deleted your comment, but I remember it.
How come I didn't take pictures of the inscriptions? 'Cause my battery was running low by the time I reached the room with the busts. You really need a second battery when you photograph things like this.
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