Look Ahead: Exhibition Calendar
Exhibitions at the Getty
A Look Ahead
Updated Sep 2017
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Current Exhibitions:
Palmyra: Loss and Remembrance
Between the first and third centuries AD, the inhabitants of Palmyra, an ancient Syrian caravan city at the crossroads between the Roman and the Parthian empires, embellished their tombs with distinctive funerary portraits. These vivid likenesses of finely dressed men, women and children, often accompanied by inscriptions naming local families, illuminate cultural exchanges taking place in the eastern Mediterranean. This installation presents sculpture from the collections of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen on long-term loan to the Getty alongside historical engravings and photographs from the Getty Research Institute.
Eighteenth-Century Pastel Portraits
Pastels—dry, satiny colors, manufactured in sticks of every hue—enjoyed a surge in popularity during the eighteenth century, becoming, for a time, the medium of choice for European portraiture. This display of pastels from the permanent collection explores the specific physical properties that made this medium so appealing to eighteenth-century portraitists and their patrons.
Upcoming Exhibition:
Leonardo da Vinci: 500 years
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death (on May 2nd, 1519 in Amboise, France), the Getty Museum is placing on view the two rare drawings by the master from its collection. Incorporating draft studies for paintings, sculpture, machinery, and human physiognomy, along with his characteristic “mirror-writing,” the two sheets present a fascinating glimpse into the mind of this celebrated Renaissance polymath. Curated by Julian Brooks.
The Wondrous Cosmos in Medieval Manuscripts
The cosmos—full of shining stars and orbiting planets—inspired study and devotion among scientists, theologians, and artists alike during the Middle Ages. The belief in angels, demons, and spirits moreover materialized in wondrous works of art, especially on the pages of illuminated manuscripts. Awe-inspiring cosmic phenomena informed every aspect of one’s physical, mental, and spiritual well-being in the premodern world. This exhibition invites you to explore the complexity of the celestial realm in medieval European faith and science traditions. Curated by Bryan C. Keene.
