Page 650 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

648  C ALIFORNIA

with fountains, walkways, court- Byzantine, Ottoman,
yards, and niches. An electric Romanesque, Gothic, and
tram brings visitors from the the Renaissance.
parking lot to the complex.
The museum has a tall, airy
foyer that opens onto a central 2 Santa Monica
courtyard. Facing this courtyard Map B4. * 90,000. k @ n 1920
are the five two-story pavilions Main St, (310) 393-7593. _ Santa
that feature the varied art Monica Festival (May).
collections. European paintings ∑ santamonica.com
in the museum date from the
Adoration of the Magi (c.1495–1505) by 13th to the late 19th centuries With its fresh sea breezes, mild
Andrea Mantegna, The Getty Museum and include masterpieces such climate, and friendly streets,
as Andrea Mantegna’s Adoration Santa Monica has been the star
1 The Getty Center of the Magi (c.1495–1505), of the Los Angeles coastline
Rembrandt’s The Abduction of since the 1890s, when trolleys
Map B3. 1200 Getty Center Dr. Europa (1632), Paul Cézanne’s linked it to the city, and beach
Tel (310) 440-7300. Open 10am–
5:30pm Tue–Fri & Sun,10am–9pm Sat. Still Life with Apples (1900), and parties became the rage. In the
No parking reservations needed. Vincent van Gogh’s Irises (1889). early days, it lived a dual life as
Closed public hols. 7 = 0 - The last was painted by the a sleepy coastal town and the
∑ getty.edu artist when he was in the headquarters for offshore
asylum at St-Remy. The Getty’s gambling ships. In the 1920s
Situated amid the untamed collection of sculpture contains and 1930s, movie stars such
beauty of the Santa Monica fine examples of Baroque as Cary Grant and Mary
Mountains in the Sepulveda and Neo-Classical Pickford bought
Pass, The Getty Center holds works, including land here,
a commanding physical and François Girardon’s creating the
cultural position in the area. Pluto Abducting “Gold Coast.” Following
Opened in 1997, the 110-acre Proserpine (c.1693– the success of the tele-
(45-ha) complex houses not 1710) and statues – vision series Baywatch,
only the Getty Museum but Venus, Juno, and the popular beach and
also the center’s research, Minerva (1773) – by pier gained worldwide
conser vation, and grant Joseph Nollekens. fame. But the city, perched
programs, dedicated to art and The museum’s on a high yellow cliff
cultural heritage. photography depart- Street entertainer overlooking Santa
J. Paul Getty (1892–1976) made ment features works of playing guitar Monica Bay, is also
his fortune in the oil business many of the pioneers noted for its restau-
and became an ardent collector of photography, such as rants, shopping areas, and
of art. He amassed a remark- Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre vibrant arts scene. Lush
able collection of European art (inventor of the daguerreotypes) parks dot the city’s landscape,
works, focusing on pre-20th- and William Henry Fox with none quite as beautiful
century artistic move ments, Talbot (the first to make prints as Palisades Park, on the
from the Renaissance to Post- from negatives). bluff overlooking the ocean.
Impressionism. A bold collector, Decorative arts were Stretching 1.5 miles (2.5 km)
Getty enjoyed the pursuit of Getty’s first love as a collector,
an object almost more than after he rented a New York
the possession of it. He wanted pent-house furnished with
his collection to be open to 18th-century French and English
the public free of charge. His antiques. The museum holds
original home, the Getty Villa a superb collection of ornate
in Malibu, was the site of the French furniture and decorative
first Getty Museum. It displays arts, with coffers, chandeliers
objects from ancient Greece, wall-lights, and tapestries,
Rome, and Etruria. dating from the reign of
Since Getty’s death, the Louis XIV to the Napoleonic
Trust has purchased works era (1643–1815).
of the highest quality to The museum traces the
complement the existing development of handwritten
collection. New departments and illuminated manuscripts
such as manuscripts and from the sixth to the 16th
drawing have also been added. centuries, and holds an
From below, the center may impressive collection of
look like a fortress, but once masterpieces from different Tall palm trees lining the road in
inside, the scale is intimate, historical periods such as the Palisades Park, Santa Monica
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp710–12 and pp713–15

648-649_EW_USA.indd 648 11/2/16 2:49 PM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 1st October 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm