Capturing Nature's Beauty: Three Centuries of French Landscapes
July 28–November 1, 2009
Highlighting key moments of the French landscape tradition—from its emergence in the 1600s to its preeminence in the 1800s—this selection of drawings reveals the engrossing tension between the passion for the real and the quest for an ideal. Featuring a wide array of techniques, functions, and styles, the exhibition showcases the work of major exponents of the genre, including Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Georges Seurat, and Vincent van Gogh.

Out-of-Bounds: Images in the Margins of Medieval Manuscripts
September 1–November 8, 2009
Part of the genius of medieval art lies in its unique ability to combine serious and profound images with playful and witty ones. In illuminated manuscripts, a primary artistic medium of the Middle Ages, scenes in the margins of a page often comment on the paintings illustrating the text in the center. As often as they expand on the narrative, they poke fun at the lofty themes and, more broadly, at human foibles. Out-of-Bounds: Images in the Margins of Medieval Manuscripts explores the margins of medieval books and explains its wealth of subject matter: children playing games, romantic pursuits, men battling fantastic creatures, and composite figures—half-human, half-beast—that wend their ways through the sinuous foliage of the painted borders.

Irving Penn: Small Trades
September 9, 2009–January 10, 2010
Working in Paris, London, and New York in the early 1950s, photographer Irving Penn (American, born 1917) created masterful representations of skilled tradespeople dressed in work clothes and carrying the tools of their trade. A neutral backdrop and natural light provided a stage on which his subjects could present themselves with dignity and pride. Penn revisited his Small Trades series over many decades, producing evermore-exacting prints, including platinum enlargements. In 2008 the Getty acquired the most comprehensive group of these images, carefully selected by the photographer—155 gelatin silver prints and 97 platinum prints—which will be exhibited in their entirety for the first time.

In Focus: The Worker
November 3, 2009–March 21, 2010
The invention of photography was announced in 1839, when the Industrial Revolution was transforming patterns of daily life in the Western world. Workers of all types were central to these changes and the camera was used—more than any other artistic medium—to depict them. Drawn exclusively from the Museum's collection, this exhibition brings together more than 40 photographs that demonstrate shifting attitudes towards the worker over much of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Migrations of the Mind: Manuscripts from the Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection
November 17, 2009–April 18, 2010
This exhibition of medieval and early modern manuscripts, drawn from the collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg, illustrates the progression of scientific knowledge and spiritual insight through the Middle Ages and Renaissance that laid the foundation for modern secular thought. The modern division between science and religion was not shared in the medieval and early modern period. Rather, this distinction was blurred, and in some intellectual communities scientific study and its artistic expression were viewed as a form of spirituality. The manuscripts in this exhibition illustrate the transmission of knowledge as a visual process and include subjects as diverse as philosophy, astronomy, geometry, music, architecture, engineering, technology, and alchemy. Demonstrated in the production of some of these manuscripts was a historical vision of divine creator and human creativity.

Drawing Life: The Dutch Visual Tradition
November 24, 2009–February 28, 2010
During the 1600s citizens of the Netherlands witnessed increasing political freedom, religious tolerance, and economic prosperity that resulted in a boom of artistic patronage and art production. In addition to traditional genres of portraiture and biblical narratives, Dutch artists began to portray the landscapes and everyday life of their native land with its bustling cities, rustic countryside, and placid waterways. This exhibition of Dutch drawings from the Getty's collection traces the invention of these new genres, exploring their persistence in the 18th century and their enduring popularity.

The Medieval Scriptorium
November 24, 2009–February 14, 2010
Organized with children in mind, this exhibition presents medieval manuscripts from the Getty's collection and focuses on the working method of medieval artists. Before technology made it possible to print many copies of a book, scribes and artists made each manuscript by hand. Scriptorium is a Latin word that means "place for writing," and it was also a place where monks illustrated their books with images created with costly pigments and precious metals such as silver and gold. Children are invited to view medieval manuscripts and take part in a copying activity at the scriptorium table.

Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling the Difference
December 8, 2009–February 28, 2010
Distilling over 30 years of scholarly research, this major international loan exhibition presents a singular opportunity to explore the differences between Rembrandt's drawings and those of more than 14 pupils and followers. In carefully selected pairings of celebrated drawings by Rembrandt and his pupils, the exhibition outlines these artistic differences and sheds light on the art of drawing in Rembrandt's circle and the vibrant creative life within the master's studio.

A Record of Emotion: The Photographs of Frederick H. Evans
February 2–June 6, 2010
Frederick H. Evans (English, 1853–1943) began pursuing photography in the late 1880s. Focusing on architecture, he paid particular attention to medieval cathedrals in England and France. His images of York Minster and Ely Cathedral are among the most renowned architectural renderings in the history of photography. He attempted to capture what he called "a record of emotion," by invoking the potent symbolism of these awe-inspiring spaces. These photographs and other cathedral subjects are displayed alongside rarely seen landscapes of the English countryside and intimate portraits of the artist's family and friends, including writer George Bernard Shaw and artist Aubrey Beardsley.

Urban Panoramas: Opie, Liao, Kim
February 2–June 6, 2010
Highlighting images by three living photographers—each of whom implements a panoramic viewpoint to examine a specific urban environment—this exhibition explores the essential rhythms of three cities while showing the range of technologies used by photographic artists today. Catherine Opie (American, born 1961) created digital pigment prints from 7x17-inch negatives of the mini-malls that characterize Los Angeles's automobile culture. Jeff Liao (Taiwanese, born 1977) combined color film negatives into seamless digital prints for his Habitat 7 project, which traces the route of the subway from Queens to Manhattan. By layering hand-cut chromogenic prints made in Reykjavík during the summer solstice, Soo Kim (Korean, born 1969) achieved the three-dimensional effect of a semitransparent city.

Building the Medieval World: Architecture in Illuminated Manuscripts
March 2–May 16, 2010
Among the lasting achievements of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are the architectural wonders of soaring cathedrals and grand palaces. The daily presence of these towering and monumental architectural forms in both cities and in the countryside fascinated medieval viewers and crept into the fictional world of the painted page. This focused exhibition explores representations of medieval architecture in manuscript illumination. Artists incorporated examples of medieval church and domestic architecture into scenes depicting stories drawn from scripture, literature, and history. They also employed impressive architectural settings to symbolically convey the importance of individuals and events, and they frequently used architectural elements as decorative motifs to frame texts and images.

Leonardo da Vinci and the Art of Sculpture: Inspiration and Invention
March 23–June 20, 2010
The first display of works by Leonardo da Vinci in Los Angeles in decades, this major international loan exhibition celebrates his achievements and involvement in the art of sculpture. Through original drawings, the exhibition explores his ambitious designs for huge equestrian sculpture projects that were never completed. Important works by artists who inspired Leonardo—and were inspired by him—are also on view, including Donatello's newly restored Bearded Prophet and three larger-than-life-size bronze figures by Leonardo's collaborator Giovanni Francesco Rustici that have never been seen outside Italy. The exhibition is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, in association with the J. Paul Getty Museum.

In Focus: Tasteful Pictures
April 6–August 22, 2010
Photographers have been enticed by the subject of food since the earliest years of the medium. Drawn exclusively from the Museum's collection, this selection of 25 works highlights important technological and aesthetic developments, including bountiful still life compositions, innovative close-ups and photograms, and documentary studies. Among the photographers featured are Roger Fenton, Adolphe Braun, Edward Weston, Bill Owens, Martin Parr, and Taryn Simon.

Printing the Grand Manner: Monumental Prints in the Age of Louis XIV
May 18–October 17, 2010

Old Testament Imagery in Medieval Christian Manuscripts
June 1–August 8, 2010
The Old Testament, as the Hebrew Bible is known to Christians, served as one of the richest sources for narrative art in the Middle Ages. It provided familiar stories—such as those of the Creation of the World and Noah's Ark—and held up heroes such as David and Solomon for emulation. Medieval readers turned to the Old Testament not only for inspiration and moral guidance, but also as a source of entertaining tales and historical information. This exhibition features the Old Testament in a wide variety of books, including Bibles, private devotional manuscripts, books for the mass, and world histories.

Reframing Life: The New Photojournalism
June 29–November 14, 2010
Reframing Life: The New Photojournalism explores the direction of published photo essays in the second half of the 20th century. The show focuses on a diverse array of independent photojournalists who have sought to develop their work beyond traditional media outlets, pursuing book-length projects of artistic proportions. Important bodies of work by Leonard Freed, W. Eugene Smith, and Lauren Greenfield, among others, are included. A section of the exhibition is devoted to tracing the origins of the genre, touching on American Civil War photographs, turn-of-the-century activist projects by Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine, Depression-era photography, and the development of a modern photojournalism aesthetic in early illustrated newspapers and picture magazines.

Current Exhibitions at the Getty Center

Past Exhibitions at the Getty Center

The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani
July 16–October 5, 2009
The Georgian site of Vani lies in what was the ancient kingdom of Colchis, known in Greek myth as the destination of Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece. Colchis was renowned as a region rich in gold, and excavations at Vani have confirmed this reputation. The archaeological finds not only demonstrate the highly refined craftsmanship of local goldworkers but also testify to contacts with both the Greek world and the Persian Empire. This exhibition presents an array of precious objects from Vani, including four bronze lamps that were discovered in 2007 and are displayed together for the first time. The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani has been organized by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York, and the Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi.

The Chimaera of Arezzo
July 16, 2009–February 8, 2010
Inaugurating a partnership with the National Archaeological Museum in Florence, this exhibition traces the myth of Bellerophon and the Chimaera over five centuries of classical art. Featured is a masterpiece of Etruscan sculpture known as the Chimaera of Arezzo: a large-scale bronze of the triple-headed, fire-breathing monster that was slain by the virtuous hero. From its ancient dedication to the supreme Etruscan deity in a sanctuary at Arezzo to its Renaissance display in the Medici collection, the Chimaera has endured as an emblem of the triumph of right over might.

Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity
October 8, 2009–Ongoing
In 2003, the J. Paul Getty Museum acquired a collection of over 350 pieces of ancient glass, formerly owned by Erwin Oppenländer. The works on view in Molten Color are remarkable for their high quality, their chronological breadth, and the glassmaking techniques illustrated by their manufacture. The vessels are accompanied by text and videos illustrating ancient glassmaking techniques.

Reconstructing Identity: A Statue of a God from Dresden
November 19, 2009–February 8, 2010
This exhibition examines the restoration history of a Roman statue from the Skulpturensammlung, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Since its discovery in the 1600s, the figure has been restored as Alexander the Great, Bacchus, and Antinous in the guise of the wine god. Damaged in World War II, the sculpture was recently reassembled by Getty and Dresden conservators.

The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of Empire
March 25–July 5, 2010
Organized to celebrate the bicentennial of Mexican independence, this exhibition explores the role of art under imperial rule. In the sixteenth century, Europeans interpreted their first encounters with Mexican cultures through the lens of classical history, drawing analogies between the Aztec and the Roman empires. Masterworks of Aztec sculpture—largely from the collections of the National Museum of Anthropology and recent excavations at Templo Mayor in Mexico City—are the point of departure for considering Old World myths with New World realities.

Current Exhibitions at the Getty Villa

Past Exhibitions at the Getty Villa