Things To Do In LA - Gérôme At The Getty

When the sun refuses to come out...which it has for weeks
The Gérôme exhibit at the Getty Museum
And why Gérôme?
Because he painted amazing Orientalist paintings

and portraits

and pure cheesecake

From the Getty website
Through most of the 20th century, however, Gérôme's critical reputation was tarnished by his alleged commercialism and his stubborn opposition to the triumphant avant-garde movements of Impressionism and Postimpressionism. The first comprehensive exhibition of his work in almost 40 years, this exhibition offers the opportunity to reconsider the variety and complexity of Gérôme's masterful oeuvre.

Around Town - Ancient Gems At The Getty Villa

Vintage Antique Victorian Bacchante Cameo From Beladora.com

Carvers and Collectors:The Lasting Allure of Ancient Gems
At the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa March 19 – September 7, 2009



“For a great many people, a single gemstone alone is enough to provide the highest and most perfect aesthetic experience of the wonders of Nature.”-- Pliny the Elder, Natural History 37.1 d. A.D. 79



LOS ANGELES—Carved gemstones have captivated connoisseurs and collectors of every age, from antiquity to the present. Carvers and Collectors: The Lasting Allure of Ancient Gems, on view from March 19 – September 7, 2009, at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, brings together remarkable intaglios and cameos carved by ancient master engravers along with outstanding works by modern carvers they have inspired.



The exhibition will display ancient gems together with items from later periods that illustrate the importance of gems through the ages. Illuminated manuscripts, rare engravings from early catalogues, and cabinets designed to house collections of gems as well as other works of art in diverse media will also be included.



“Greek rulers, Roman emperors, medieval and Renaissance popes and potentates, and 17th–19th-century monarchs and aristocrats all sought to possess these precious markers of culture, taste, and status,” said Kenneth Lapatin, associate curator of antiquities. “This exhibition truly illustrates the lasting allure of these masterpieces in miniature.”



Semi-precious hard stones, like carnelian, chalcedony, amethyst, and agate, have long been carved with decorative patterns and figural designs. Skilled craftsmen in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt as well as Greece, Rome, and Etruria used hand-powered drills and lathes to cut images into stone to create exquisitely carved gems.



Ancient gem forms called intaglios––from the Italian “to cut in”–– were produced through a technique that used negatives to create positive reliefs, or impressions, when pressed into a soft material, such as wax or clay.



Around 400 B.C., a new technique developed alongside intaglios––the making of cameos. Carvers created relief images that were produced by cutting away the stone surrounding the figure. By exploiting the different colors of banded stones, which could be artificially enhanced, artisans created the illusion of depth with multi-colored compositions.



Engraved gems have been valued not only for their distinctive carving, but also for the intrinsic qualities of their stones. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, ancient intaglios and cameos were reused not only as rings and pendants, but also were mounted in reliquaries, book-bindings, and altar pieces. Rulers, noblemen, and wealthy merchants sought and traded gems, and modern carvers produced replicas and forgeries.



Ancient gem carvers occasionally signed their works, but very few are recorded in ancient literature. However, unsigned intaglios and cameos have in many cases been attributed to known masters through their shared characteristics.



Master carvers on display in this exhibition include Solon, active about 70–20 BC, who worked in Roman imperial circles. Recently, one of his signed gems was found in excavations at Pompeii. His carvings gained great popularity in the 18th century due to the exceptional quality and design of his “Strozzi Medusa” gem, which appears in the exhibition.



Also included are gems attributed to Dioskourides, a Greek master from Aigeai, mentioned by several Roman authors as the carver of the Emperor Augustus’ personal seal.

Savvy Shopping - Going Green For The Getty

So what do you do when the Santa Ana winds have left Los Angeles so clear that you can see from the mountains to Catalina?

You go to the Getty Center of course to appreciate the view while catching up with some culture.

Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725

This exhibition tells the extraordinary story of a small group of artists who changed the course of art history. In the decades after the deaths of the great Renaissance masters, such as Raphael and Michelangelo, the art of painting was thought to have gone into steep decline. But then, in the late 16th century, the Carracci family of painters from Bologna burst onto the scene with tremendous energy and vitality, raising art to new heights. Their heroic achievement set standards that were to remain authoritative for more than 200 years. Here a selection of key works by the Carracci and several generations of their pupils and followers brings this artistic triumph to life. For them, the visible world became their principal source of inspiration, and nature was their teacher. Painting was about to enter a new era of creativity and lavish patronage, resulting in the glories of the Baroque age.

J0seph and Potiphar's Wife by Simone Cantorini at the Getty

Beladora.com vintage emerald and diamond dangle earrings $1650


Armani Collezioni at Neiman Marcus on Sale with additional 20% off

Beladora2.com vintage emerald and diamond ring $1295

I like the baroque-ish look of this vintage jewelry with the satin texture of the Armani jacket...

clearly very painterly

Around Town - Some Gorgeous Art At The Getty

If you haven't been to the Getty Museum lately you are missing out on one of the best things that Los Angeles has to offer. It's easy to get to. The total cost is $10 for parking. And when you see the view from the top of the Brentwood hills, it takes your breath away.
And then there's the art.
I loved this exhibit: Sur Le Motif: Painting in Nature around 1800
The choice of vistas and the use of color in these painting evokes everything that the Romantic Period in Art was all about.
These paintings of Italy are just so lovely.

And, I was particularly thrilled to see these works of art because I love the Romantic aesthetic in music, art and literature...and I am reading the biography of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of the uber poets of the Romantic Era.