Verified Document

Two Radically Different Exhibits At The Getty Museum Essay

¶ … Getty Museum Before making plans to personally visit the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, I spent an hour or so researching the museum, Mr. Getty, and some of the issues that this richest of all art museums had recently faced. The assignment calls for finding out what is available to see, and I also found out what was not available to see. One important statue that I would have liked to have viewed was the ancient Greek "goddess of love," Aphrodite, that that iconic statue had been repatriated back to Italy in 2011. My research also showed that the trend for museums that have antiquities on display is to return those art pieces to their rightful countries, if they were purchased from dealers who either stole them or bought them from thieves. In fact the Getty Museum has given back 47 pieces in the last few years (the Metropolitan Museum in New York has given back 21). This has enormous historical significance because these treasures belong to the countries and the people in those countries, and it is an international crime to smuggle them out, or to buy them from someone who did smuggle them or otherwise obtained them through illegal means.

My Visit to the Getty Museum

Meanwhile, on a recent Tuesday afternoon I rode the tram up the steep hill to the Getty, which is a shining building on top a hill overlooking the ocean to the west and the City of Los Angeles to the south.

I walked through the halls and into the large high ceiling rooms that were crowded with visitors, and viewed several works of art that I really was drawn to -- but they were created before 1600, so they didn't qualify for this paper. However, I do have to explain that I truly enjoyed a painting by Flemish artist Lieven...

Three friars are pointing to a passage in a book, perhaps a Bible, and a man with a red hat looking not at the friars but at something above them (1464). The impression a viewer gets is that the friars were trying to point out something important in that book (probably the Bible) but the man in the tall red hat had higher aspirations.
Another painting I was attracted to was "The Crucifixion," a beautiful, stunning painting of Christ on the cross that was painted by Giuliano Amadei in the 15th century. I don't generally like drawings or paintings of Jesus Christ being murdered on the cross, but this one was very interesting because at the bottom of the main picture there is another smaller painting of a group of people apparently carrying the deceased savior to what they apparently thought would be his final resting place. On either side of the main drawing are smaller images of people who might be his disciples except that there are just ten of them.

Exhibition -- The Scandalous Art of James Ensor

This Belgium painter had a wild imagination and was obviously going against the grain and marching to his own drummer because his paintings were radical and bizarre. The description of his life reflects that he was an international celebrity at the end of his career, but when he was younger he was provocative and created scandals. Looking at his art work one can easily see why he made waves and created scandals.

I spent perhaps twenty or thirty minutes looking at this exhibition. I had never seen art so gross and even scary. I guess the bold outrageousness of his work made me want to see more of it and understand where he was coming from, although I…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Adams, A. (2014). In Focus: Ansel Adams. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.

Ensor, J. (2014). The Scandalous Art of James Ensor. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

California.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Museum Displays of "Non-Western" Art Are Qualitatively
Words: 1009 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Museum Displays of "non-Western" art are qualitatively different from those displaying art that does not come from Europe or North America. Art from places deemed "exotic," or "primitive" tends to be displayed and perceived as anthropological items and indicators of culture. The conceptual arts and "art for art's sake" is frequently denied to non-Western societies. Moreover, the art of places like Oceania is sometimes referred to more as "artifact," versus "art."

Museum Comparison Art Museums the Metropolitan Museum
Words: 1321 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Museum Comparison Art museums The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is one of the most famous art museums in the world. The idea for a large museum located in the city of New York was first formulated in 1866 when the statesman John Jay resolved to create a place to house America's great art collections in a central urban area. By the 20th century, the Museum achieved Jay's goal

Museum As a Medium
Words: 2787 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Paper

Museums as a Medium Museums can be characterized as a place which is basically a store and an exhibit of cultural, historical, scientific or artistic objects which people can often visit to enjoy and take pleasure in. This trend of the establishment of the museums came about way back in the Renaissance when people started taking pleasure in such unique talents and expressed themselves through various mediums like writing, drawing, painting,

Museum Event & Experience in the Early
Words: 896 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Museum Event & Experience In the early 1900's, Henry Flagler built a 75-room, 100,000 square-foot home that was used as a Palm Beach winter retreat for his family. Gatherings at the residence -- known as Whitehall -- were an establishing force of the Palm Beach season for wealthy families during the Gilded Age. Flagler died roughly 100 years ago, and subsequent years saw the residence and grounds become a National Historic

Museum Methods
Words: 5430 Length: 17 Document Type: Term Paper

Museum Methods museum is usually a non-profit organization with intent to provide education and enlightenment by the organized collection, preservation, interpretation and exhibit of items deemed to be of interest to the public or community. Historically, museums have evolved as collaborative projects to house collected works gathered for the appreciation of the current and future generations in our society. However, such definitions cannot be regarded as the last word on

Museum Budget Cuts One-Page Memo
Words: 1877 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Rank VI personnel: senior technician; supervisory staff, chief technician, assistant to specialists, 1 senior secretary, graduate trainee. Rank VII personnel Senior clerical staff technician senior clerk, senior switchboard, security supervisor. A junior trainee mgrs. Keeping only Sr. switchboard, Jr. trainee mgrs Skilled grade: craftspersons salaries clerk computer operator security men. Keeping 1 craftsperson, salaries clerk, and 3 security guards Semi-Skilled Grade: general driver general clerk typist/receptionists. Entertainment and publicity budget Limited events with volunteer help, donated food, drink and entertainment Total Employees Before = 55) After cuts) 34 Total

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now