Los Angeles, CA–April 12, 2022

The Getty Museum

The place is totally magnificent, way up in the hills overlooking Los Angeles. The art is good, but it’s the kind of art you’d expect a rich old white dude (J. Paul Getty) to collect. I’ve seen a lot of art like it, and overall it didn’t excite me greatly. However, if you go for that sort of art, well, here it is.

Stairway at entrace to getty; black sculpture of reclining woman at left, white sculpture of small child at right

Long view of entrance to Getty Museum showing curved “ribbon” exterior

View of buildings from Getty Center; futuristic-looking buildling at right

No doubt that these buildings are in the high rent district.

The buildings are arranged in chronological order of artworks from earliest to latest; here’s stuff from the 1500-1600s.

Ornate vases with gold trim and seated figures on lid

Blue and green glass with “bumps” on exterior.

I am totally amazed that glassware could survive for 500+ years.

Various vase-like glasses in blue and clear glass, gold ale horn in background

There was a special exhibit of illuminated manuscripts. One can only imagine how accurate their interpretation was.

Placard for “Painted Prophecy - The Hebrew Bible through Christian Eyes”

Back to the exhibits...

“The Dream of Pope Sergius”, showing him asleep in a room with an angel at the left.

Painting of madonna and child, Saint Elizabeth, John the Baptist as a boy, and two cherubs at top embraing, with horrified expressions on their faces.

OK, this one is just creepy. See complete description.

The Annunciation: Sculptures of Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, both dressed in white with gold trim

And now, off to the furniture and housewares department.

Table with gold scrollwork on legs with heads of women

Red stuffed armchari with gold scrollwork on arms and back

Small painted ceramic sculptures depicting mythological figures.

Wood cabinet with ceramic vases on top; cabinet supported by cherubim

Pink ceramic plates, cups, try, and containers with gold edgework.

Purple urns in shape of hot air balloons

Egg-shaped urns with landscapes painted on the front

Other assorted artwork:

Portrait by Rembrandt of man with beard and black hat and robe

Bowl with pomegranates, lemons, and other fruits.

And in between the buildings, this modern sculpture (“Three Brushstrokes”) by Roy Lichtenstein.

Tall vertical sculpture of red, yellow, and blue brush strokes

Back to older art...

Large shield-size silver plate with carvings of heroic figures

Grandfather clock with narrow neck and wide base

Chandelier with blue sphere in center, decorated with stars

Cabinet with gold filigree and pictures of landscapes on doors

Man with white powdered wig in flowered robe

This guy reminds me of some TV or movie actor, but for the life of me I don’t know who.

Portrait of yawning man at left, bust of vexed man with lips pursed on right.

The bust on the right (“The Vexed Man”) reminds me very much of the late Gilbert Gottfried, a comedian who died a couple of days ago.

More art!

Model for a monument to Alexandre Dumas, père

Model for a monnument to Alexandre Dumas, père

Sign saying “Work in Progress” where a painting used to be

No, this isn’t some avant-garde comment on art; it marks a painting that was removed for restoration or such-like.

Small sculpture of woman on couch with child

This is one of the very few sculptures of someone other than a white dude or gal:

Bust of man with moustache (Jean-Léon Gérôme)

Not a young Mark Twain. It’s Jean-Léon Gérôme.

Painting of street lined with flags; man with one leg on crutches in foreground

Painting by Édouard Manet

Yes, that’s a Van Gogh painting. I felt obligated to get a picture of it and post it.

Still life with flowers and fruit basket

The Getty Center Grounds

View of Getty Museum gardens on right and Los Angeles on left

View from above of cactus garden with many barrel cacti.

View of Los Angeles through a square “window” in the stonework of the building

Pole with three movable rectangular panels at 120 degree angles.

The panels on this sculpture move. (See video)

Abstract sculpture in two parts; left part has a triangle on a rod, right part has a circle on a rod.

This sculpture is called “The Jousters” by Alexander Calder.

Silver metallic abstract sculptue that looks a bit like an animal

Flowers and plants in various shades of green and purple

Plant with purple and green grape-like projections

Miscellaneous Pictures

I had taken the bus to the Getty museum, and it was a very long ride. On the way back, I decided to get off fairly close to my destination and walk back, taking pictures of whatever struck my fancy.

Advert for The Cool Kids album: Before Shit Got Weird

Sticker of a white gloved hand holding a roll of bills

Wall with word HOLLYWOOD attached to it in imitation of the Hollywood sign; some letters are falling off.

Wall painting of boy hanging by his knees from a wall, holding a girl by her hands.

Spray painted picture of woman wearing hoodie.

“YUNG BLEU MOON BOY” spray painted on sidewalk

Retro sign for Downtowner Motel, with star s at top

Traffic signal defaced with sticker of face of man labeled WELK

Large wall painting of Edward James Olmos and Jaime Escalante

Capital letter A inlaid into street crossing

This is inlaid into the pedestrian intersections near MacArthur Park. I have no idea what its significance is.

Brick building with faded advert for Roxy Apartments

Wall painting with face, cityscape, owl, and hummingbird

There was one phrase spray-painted on the sidewalk which startled me. I’m not posting it directly on this page because it is very NSFW (Not Safe For Work), but here is a link to it. Remember, it is NOT safe for work! You have been warned.

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