It’s November 3, meaning AP Art History (APAH) is headed into the battlefield, armed with extensive knowledge on archaic smiles, wet drapery, and anything related to columns. The Getty Villa Museum, located in the heart of Malibu, is the victim of today’s trip. Boasting Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Egyptian artwork, the Getty Villa is truly the perfect follow-up to APAH’s most recent unit on ancient Mediterranean art.
The tour began in Ms. Valdes’s favorite spot: the Outer Peristyle Garden (pictured above). Surrounding the infamous reflecting pool, museum-goers can find flora reminiscent of the Mediterranean landscape, including—but certainly not limited to—cypress trees, pomegranate trees, and olive trees. In an interview, Ms. Valdes linked the garden to a time machine; each amble through the peaceful foliage is a blast to the ancient Mediterranean past.
As the tour went on, APAH-ers began teetering with excitement upon seeing their textbook content materialize in the artwork before them. In the Victorious Athlete, the Head of Ptolemy IX, and the Statuette of an Old Woman, they saw the tragic yet realistic features that characterize Hellenism. Meanwhile, the Sarcophagus, an ornately designed stone coffin, represented the convergence of Etruscan and Greek elements.
Senior Jack Li liked the Harp Player, an early work from Cyclades. “It felt extremely concise,” he explained. “It told [so much] about the artist, the time period, the culture, and the general zeitgeist without detail-maxxing.” Perhaps the greatest compliment any high school senior can give, Li went as far as to say that if he were asked in a college supplemental question what historic item he would “give…to future generations,” his answer would be the Harp Player.
Although the history behind each individual work was compelling, arguably even more interesting was the history of the museum itself. Ms. Valdes explained how oilman turned philanthropist J. Paul Getty founded the museum in order to put his private collection of ancient Mediterranean art on display for the public. In order to demonstrate how exactly wealthy he was, Ms. Valdes revealed an anecdote in which Getty’s grandson was kidnapped because the perpetrators were hoping to get some good ransom money. In short, the Getty Villa is full of exciting stories, within the strokes and grooves of the art itself and beyond.
