Getty Villa facts for kids
The Outer Peristyle of the Villa
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| Established | 1954, reopened 2006 |
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| Location | 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, California |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collection size | 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities |
| Visitors | 509,000 (2021) |
| Public transit access |  534Note: Ticket must be punched by bus operator in order to enter the Getty Villa |
The Getty Villa is a special museum and learning center. It is located in Pacific Palisades, California, near the ocean. This museum is one of two parts of the J. Paul Getty Museum.
The Getty Villa focuses on the art and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. It has a huge collection of 44,000 ancient objects. These items date from 6,500 BC to 400 AD. Some famous pieces include the Lansdowne Heracles and the Victorious Youth.
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History of the Getty Villa
The Getty Villa was started by an oil businessman named J. Paul Getty. In 1954, he opened a small art gallery next to his home. He quickly needed more space for his growing collection.
So, he built a second, larger museum. This new museum, the Getty Villa, opened in 1974. Its design was inspired by an ancient Roman house called the Villa of the Papyri in Italy. The architects added details from other old Roman sites.
J. Paul Getty never saw the completed museum; he passed away in 1976. After his death, the museum received a lot of money. This allowed them to plan an even bigger campus, the Getty Center.
Renovations and New Focus
In 1997, the Getty Villa closed for a big renovation. Some of its ancient art moved to the Getty Center. The Villa reopened in 2006. It now shows Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art in buildings that look like ancient Roman homes. Beautiful Roman-style gardens surround the museum.
The art inside is grouped by themes. For example, you can find sections like Gods and Goddesses or Stories of the Trojan War. The new design of the Villa makes it feel like you are exploring an ancient archaeological dig.
In 2016–2018, the collection was rearranged. It now shows art in time order, focusing on how art styles changed.
Returning Ancient Art
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Sometimes, ancient artworks are found and taken from their original countries without permission. The Getty Villa has worked with the governments of Greece and Italy to return some of these items. In 2006, four items were returned to Greece. In 2007, 40 items were returned to Italy.
In 2022, the Getty Villa hosted a special dinner. President Joe Biden welcomed leaders from across the Western Hemisphere. This was part of the 9th Summit of the Americas.
What You Can Do at the Getty Villa
The Getty Villa offers many activities for visitors. You can watch live performances in its indoor theater or outdoor Greek theater. These often include ancient plays like The Trojan Women. There are also musical performances related to the art.
The Villa also has special programs for children.
- The Family Forum gallery lets kids decorate Greek vases.
- You can project shadows onto a screen that looks like a Greek urn.
- There are props from Greek and Roman culture to touch and use for shadow play.
- The museum also provides special guides for kids to explore the exhibits.
The Getty Villa also works with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). They have a Master's Program for studying how to preserve ancient objects.
Exploring the Campus
The Getty Villa is located on a large property of 64 acres. It sits on a hill with views of the Pacific Ocean. The main museum building is shaped like a square around a central courtyard. This courtyard is called the Inner Peristyle.
The museum building has 58 windows facing this courtyard. It also has a special skylight that can open. The floors in the galleries are made of terrazzo. The building has strong steel beams to protect it from earthquakes. The museum has 48,000 square feet of space for its art exhibits.
Beautiful Gardens
The Getty Villa has four different gardens. They are filled with plants that grew in the Mediterranean region. These plants were also grown by the ancient Romans.
- The largest garden is the Outer Peristyle. It is a copy of a garden from the ancient Villa dei Papiri. It has a long pool in the middle. You can see rows of date palms and other Roman-style plants. There are also copies of ancient Roman statues.
- The Herb Garden grows herbs from ancient Roman times. It also has fruit trees like fig, apricot, and apple. Grapevines and olive trees surround this garden.
- The East Garden is a quiet, small garden. It has a copy of a famous shell and mosaic fountain from Pompeii.
- The Inner Peristyle garden is inside the museum building. It also has a long, narrow pool. You can see copies of ancient Greek sculptures here.
Collection Highlights
The Getty Villa has 44,000 ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan objects. About 1,400 of these are on display.
Some important items include:
- Victorious Youth: This is one of the few life-size Greek bronze statues that still exists today.
- Lansdowne Heracles: A Roman sculpture that looks like the work of a famous Greek artist.
- Getty Kouros: This marble statue is a mystery! Experts are not sure if it's a real ancient Greek statue or a modern fake. If it's real, it's one of only twelve complete life-size Greek statues of young men.
- Marbury Hall Zeus: An 81-inch tall marble statue of the king of the gods, Zeus.
The Villa also has collections of ancient jewelry and coins. It has a large library with 20,000 books about art from these periods.
GettyGuide App
You can learn more about the J. Paul Getty Museum's collection using the "GettyGuide" app. It has audio tours and maps of the museum.
Gallery
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Outer Peristyle
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Outer Peristyle – architectural detail
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Inner Peristyle
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Gallery within the Villa
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Ancient Roman glassware in the Getty Villa
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Marbury Hall Zeus, King of the Gods, at the Getty Villa
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Athena, Goddess of war, civilization, wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice and skill
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Roman-Egyptian Female Mummy Portrait
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Roman gold medallion
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Roman bronze statuette
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Roman fresco fragment of a peacock
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Roman head-shaped glass vessels
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Statue of a Siren
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Victorious Youth, part of the museum's collection
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Etruscan amber pendant of a lion and a swan
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Etruscan gold ring depicting a siren, sphinx, and hippocamp
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Grave Stele of Pollis (480 BC)
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See also
In Spanish: Villa Getty para niños
- Camillo Paderni described parts the Villa of the Papyri
