A large cultural center located in Los Angeles , considered one of the most famous and modern cultural centers in the world, as well as the most visited of all museums in Los Angeles . The Getty Center is home to the world’s largest collection of art and creativity, which, rightfully so, is considered one of the most expensive private-owned fine art collections.
The Getty Center was named after its founder, the American oil tycoon, billionaire Jean-Paul Getty. He was an avid collector of art and antiques. The first shows of Getty’s rich collections took place at his villa in Malibu .
Before his death, the billionaire ordered the foundation he created to build a museum and place the collected collections there. A plot worth $ 25 million was purchased for construction in 1983. The process of creating the museum was completed only in 1997.
By this time, financial investments in the Getty Center amounted to a record amount of $ 1.3 billion instead of $ 350 million, which was originally planned to be invested. The cost of the project increased several times due to the complex location of the museum (on the top of the mountain) and the associated difficulties in transporting construction materials, which often had to be delivered by helicopters.
Today, the Getty Center is visited by about 1.3 million visitors annually. Most tourists come here not only because of the truly priceless collection of art objects, but also because of the stunning panorama of the city of Los Angeles, which opens from here, due to the fact that the museum is located on the top of the mountain.
The Getty Center includes a complex of five buildings, each of which houses large collections of sculptures, paintings, and arts and crafts. Also, the center complex includes a large library and a research institute working in the field of fine arts, including conducting work to confirm the authenticity and value of paintings.
All the exhibits presented in the collection are placed in a certain order. For example, the eastern pavilion contains 17th century art objects, the northern pavilion contains works up to 1600, and the southern pavilion displays a collection of 18th century paintings.
The Getty Center Collection is recognized as one of the most valuable collections of fine art in the world. Here you can see the works of the most famous French, Flemish, Spanish, Dutch artists.
The architecture of the museum, both its exterior and interior, deserves special attention. So, in the central part there is a beautiful garden and a swimming pool, which was made in such a way that the visitors of the museum could watch the fascinating play of the reflection of sunlight.
The second floors of individual pavilions are interconnected by open, glazed corridors-terraces, from where an extraordinary view of the Los Angeles foothills and further on the entire metropolis opens. The evening view from the territory of the museum to the greater Los Angeles is recognized as one of the most mesmerizing.
During the design and construction of the museum, architect Richard Mayer paid great attention to natural lighting of the main exhibition premises. For this purpose, most of the walls of the exhibition pavilions were completely made of glass.
Last updated: 20/12/2022
