The Getty Villa (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum) | 
| Authors: Marion True, Jorge Silvetti
Creator: Salvatore Settis
Publisher: Getty Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $65.00
Buy New: $37.06
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 1057818
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 6.9
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 9.9 x 1
ISBN: 0892368381
Dewey Decimal Number: 727.70979493
EAN: 9780892368389
ASIN: 0892368381
Publication Date: January 28, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The original Getty Museum, housed in a replica of a Roman Villa on a site overlooking the Pacific Ocean, is one of Los Angeles's most treasured landmarks. Closed for almost ten years while renovations were made to the building and the site itself was transformed into a center for the study of antiquities and conservation, the Getty Villa is now set to open late in 2005.
The Getty Villa is a lively history of the Getty Museum, its renowned antiquities collections, and its growth from a small museum in a ranch house in Malibu to its first home in a building designed to replicate what we know of the Villa dei Papiri, an ancient Roman villa partially uncovered in Herculaneum. Most engagingly, this book records the ten-year adventure in reconfiguring a beautiful, but topographically challenging, site into one that could continue to accommodate the splendid Museum building and also provide for an outdoor theater, laboratories for conservation work and research, offices for staff and visiting scholars, and an education program for adults and children.
This is a story of architectural imagination, geographical challenges, and legal hurdles, all of which have resulted in a truly unique and beautiful site. The story is an enlightening and rewarding one for anyone interested in architecture and in the difficulties posed by building on a grand scale in the twenty-first century. Beautifully illustrated throughout, the book includes 250 reproductions of works of art, photographs of both the old and the new Getty Museum, site plans, and architectural elevations.
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| Customer Reviews:
nice villa, but it had some drawbacks March 25, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
At one level, this appears like a typical coffeetable art book. Large format, glossy pages and many detailed photos and illustrations. Certainly, you can treat it like that. Giving you several nice views of the Getty Villa over the last 30 years.
But True and her co-authors also provide a detailed history of how the villa was built. From the artistic aspirations of Getty to the legacy he left after his death. If you have already visited the villa, especially before the recent changes, then the text furnishes a neat counterpoint to your experiences. It points out that the villa was severely underserved with parking spaces. A key reason for that annoying requirement that you ring ahead to reserve a space. Another aspect was that entering the villa was often confusing, as the villa lacked a grand entrance.
To ameliorate these and other drawbacks is why the villa was shut for several years. Heavy and necessary upgrades. Plus, the new Getty Center was also being built elsewhere in Los Angeles.
The book has a hilarious anecdote. In 1993, there was a meeting at the Villa, for architects to decide on changes. A presentation was given about the last days of Pompeii and Heculaneum, before they were covered by volcanic ash. The presentation was because the Villa was inspired by excavations at those places. After the meeting, the people went outside, and saw fine white ashes fall from the sky! Was this an omen from the gods? Was Los Angeles to be destroyed by a volcano? Turned out, the ashes were from bushfires around Los Angeles, that had been raging for several days.
Seriously, though. If you are ever in Los Angeles, this book might inspire you to spend a leisurely afternoon at the Villa. It is really nice out there, by the Pacific.
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