When this art museum paper was brought to my attention at the beginning of the semester I didn’t really know what to expect. I did know quite a bit of information about the history of art prior to enrolling in this class but being in this class has allowed me to expand that knowledge a lot more. New terms and pieces have been introduced that have caught my attention. I have only been to one other art museum in the past and that was the Norton Simon. When you shared the list of recommended museums to go to, I was instantly attracted to one in particular. The museum that I decided to go to was the Getty Villa. I didn’t want to go alone so I invited my family to go with me. I went with both of my parents and my little brother and they had a good time learning about the ancient pieces and were especially in awe of the time periods in which these pieces were created. The Getty Villa is located in the beautiful city of Malibu in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was opened to the public on January 28, 2006. This museum has an extensive collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan artworks, dating back to 6,500 B.C. to 400 A.D., of which over 1,200 are on view. Out of all the 1,200+ pieces of art, the three that I enjoyed the most were the Statue of Hercules, the Male Harp Player of the Early Spedos Type, and the Statue of Jupiter. In the remainder of this paper I will be discussing the pieces of art mentioned above and sharing some of the key facts and details about these artworks.
The first piece of art that I will be discussing is the Statue of Hercules, also known as the Lansdowne Hercules. The name Lansdowne Hercules comes from Lord Lansdowne, who once owned this statue and displayed it in his house in London. The Lansdowne Hercules was said to be one of J. Paul Getty’s most prized possessions, and understandably so. Getty acquired this figure in 1951 and eventually he donated it to his museum. This Statue of Hercules contributed to his decision to build a museum in the style of an ancient Roman Villa which was something unique to me. The artist or sculptor for this piece is unknown, however, we do know the place it was created. This statue was created in the Roman Empire and was found near the Casino Fede in the northern area of Hadrian’s Villa in 1790. Hadrian’s Villa is located in Tivoli, Italy. The time period this statue was created was from about 125 A.D. The material used to create this sculpture of Hercules was marble. The statue stands at about 6 feet 3 inches tall so it was considerably life-sized. He also looks very athletic and muscular. The dimensions of this statue in inches are 76 × 30.5 × 28.75. Hercules is shown carrying a club over his left shoulder and is holding a lion skin in his right hand. Some areas that had to undergo restoration included the lower left leg and parts of both arms. The reason why one could easily identify this figure and who it is, is because the objects he’s holding. Hercules is often depicted holding the skin of a lion as well as the club. Hercules is depicted as a nude figure, which is a common depiction of many young Greek heroes. The Greeks, as we learned, considered male nudity to be the highest form of beauty and perfection. Out of all the gods and heroes depicted in Greek and Roman art, none of them appear as frequently as we see Hercules. This statue was one of the many copies Hadrian gave order to do because he loved Greek culture and sculptures.
The next piece of art that I will be discussing is the Male Harp Player of the Early Spedos Type. Like the Statue of Hercules, the artist for the Male Harp Player of the Early Spedos Type is also unknown. The culture that created this piece were the Cycladics. The place in which this cycladic figurine was created was Cyclades, Greece. The time period that the Harp Player was created is said to be between 2700-2300 B.C. The material used to create the male harp player was marble. The dimensions of this figurine in inches are 14 × 3.75 × 11. This figurine is extremely valuable because depictions of musical performances are hard to find in Cycladic art. A majority of Cycladic sculptures represent either standing or reclining female figures. Only about five percent of these Cycladic figures are male. Unlike the females who stand still or are reclining, the males are in a more active role, such as playing an instrument like the harp. The figure is shown sitting straight up on a stool with four legs. The head is almost positioned in a way as if the figurine is looking up. He’s playing the harp, an instrument that has been around for quite a while, as far back as 3500 B.C.E. It was extremely popular during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.The right hand of the figure is resting on the sound box. This piece looks like it would have been extremely difficult to compose and shape since it has the seated player, stool, and harp but this three dimensional designed Harp Player is a masterpiece of Bronze Age sculpture. This statuette of the man playing the harp doesn’t look like it depicts a god, but rather a human. This time period was before people were literate so these musicians were important because they entertained but also provided myths and folklore through their songs.
The third and final piece of art that I will be discussing is the Statue of Jupiter, also known as Marbury Hall Zeus. The name Marbury Hall Zeus comes from having been a part of the collection at Marbury Hall in England. The artist for this sculpture is also unknown. The date in which this piece was created was around 1st century A.D. The material used to create this statue was marble. The thing that amazed me when I saw this statue of Jupiter was its size. The dimensions for this statue in inches are 81.5 × 39 × 24.6. The Romans regarded Jupiter as the equivalent to the Greek Zeus so I’ll be referring to this statue as Zeus. Zeus is portrayed as a man with a beard, as we’d see in the common image of him. He sits enthroned in his role as king of the gods. Zeus is missing basically his entire left arm and part of the lower portion of his right arm. Originally, he would’ve been holding his thunderbolt and scepter. His giant size might be a symbol of his power over mortal observers. Although this statue was carved in a Roman workshop in the first century A.D., the main inspiration for this portrayal of Jupiter was a Greek sculpture from around 430 B.C., the monumental gold and ivory statue of Zeus sculpted by Pheidias for Zeus’ temple of Olympia. Ancient writers praised Pheidias’ Zeus and many sculptors copied it.
From the beginning up until present times, sculptures have been extremely monumental and important to the history of art. There were quite a few sculptures that I viewed at the Getty Villa but of the many that I saw, there were three pieces of art in particular that stood out to me. The three pieces of art were the the Statue of Hercules, the Male Harp Player of the Early Spedos Type, and the Statue of Jupiter. Art is a way of expression, but also a source of beauty. Whatever culture you’re from, there’s beauty in the art that originated from that given culture whether it’s a sculpture, painting, or architecture. Even in the preliterate days, art give us an understanding of what it means to be human. Just look at the Harp Player for example. This figurine speaks volumes. It tells us that the figure was human and not a god and we know that the fact that he is playing music, that was a way of entertaining and creating myths and folklores through the music. It’s the same way today. We still listen to music as a way of entertainment and expressing ourselves the exact same way they did way back in the day. We learn tons of important things through art. It reflects cultures from hundreds even thousands of years before us so it gives us a deeper understanding of the focus, materials, and subject of that piece of art from each specific culture. A culture’s art is also a source of pride because it’s what’s left from the ancient culture. It allows us to understand ourselves a bit more. The ancient Greeks and Romans are no longer with us, but the art that they created is, as well as many other cultures. The Statue of Hercules gives us an idea of what the ancient people thought was the perfect body and image to depict. The statue doesn’t look extremely godlike. The figure is the size of some humans today. The same ideas do still apply though as to what the perfect and attractive look is. Hercules was portrayed as a muscular and athletic young man… Today, we still kind of have that same image as to what the perfect body is and that is athletic and muscular. So as you can see, we do learn quite a bit when looking at these ancient works of art because it shows us what we value.