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All events are free, unless otherwise noted.

Admission to the Getty Villa is FREE. An advance, timed ticket is required to visit the Getty Villa. Check ticket availability online or call (310) 440-7300. Groups of nine or more must make reservations by phone.

Lectures

Color in Sculpture: A Story of Bad Taste?
Sculptors in the West have used color to make their works of the human figure "come alive" since ancient times, however the public and many art historians tend to relegate color in sculpture to the gaudy. Roberta Panzanelli of the Getty Research Institute traces the history of polychromy in sculpture, from the creation of a taste for the monochromatic to the contemporary reception of extreme realism. Free; reservations required.

Thursday, May 15, 2008, 3:00 p.m.
Getty Center, GRI Lecture Hall

Color in Modern Sculpture
Against a backdrop of earlier monochrome works, 20th-century sculpture erupted with bold chromatic variety. From Pablo Picasso to James Turrell, color became a ubiquitous element of sculptural expression. Steven Nash, executive director of the Palm Springs Art Museum, examines this development, tracing it from statues that emulate paintings to works incorporating colored light. Free; a ticket is required.

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Thursday, May 29, 2008, 8:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Auditorium

"True" versus "Colored" Sculpture: A 19th-Century Debate about the Renaissance
Although color was used extensively in sculpture from antiquity through the Renaissance, the leading art historian of the 19th century, Jakob Burckhardt, despised polychromy and the excessive realism it created. Bruce Boucher, curator of European sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, explores Burckhardt's argument that "true" sculpture was colorless. Free; a ticket is required.

Saturday, June 14, 2008, 3:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Auditorium

Color in Classical Sculpture: A Challenge to Western Ideals
The pervasive idea that Greek and Roman statuary was conceived in white marble has influenced not only our understanding of sculpture in antiquity but also the aesthetic ideals of later Western art. Yet interdisciplinary research demonstrates that color was inherent to classical sculpture. Jan Stubbe Østergaard, curator of ancient art at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, surveys our knowledge of ancient polychromy and its repercussions. Free; a ticket is required.

Thursday, May 1, 2008, 8:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Auditorium

Artist-at-Work Demonstrations

Drop by as artist Sylvana Barrett demonstrates ancient fresco, encaustic, and tempera painting techniques. Free with your advance, timed ticket to the Getty Villa.

Thursday–Monday, April 10–14, 2008, 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Education Studio

Studio Course

Painting in the Ancient World
Learn Romano-Egyptian painting techniques in this daylong workshop led by artist Sylvana Barrett. Make your own paint and prepare a surface using authentic materials to create a tempera portrait. Course fee: $75; students $60. Open to 15 participants.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 24, 2008, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Museum galleries and Education Studio

 
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Family Festival

Join us in a daylong festival for the entire family. Create your own sculpture and bring it to life with vibrant colors. Listen to music from the Mediterranean and hear new interpretations of Greek and Roman myths. Free; a ticket is required. Each ticket allows you to bring up to three children ages 15 and under with you in one car.

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Sunday, May 4, 2008, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Peristyle Gardens and Auditorium

Symposium

Rediscovering Color: New Perspectives on Polychrome Sculpture
This two-day symposium brings together an international group of scholars and conservators to discuss conceptual and technical issues associated with polychrome sculpture. Topics include historiography, conservation, iconography, artistic collaboration, and matters of media and technique. Free; advance registration required.

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Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, 2008, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Auditorium

Gallery Talks

Curators lead one-hour tours through the exhibition. Free with your advance, timed ticket to the Getty Villa. Space is limited. Sign up at the Tour Meeting Place outside the Auditorium 15 minutes before the talk.

Roberta Panzanelli, senior research specialist, the Getty Research Institute
Friday, March 28, 2008, 3:00 p.m.
Friday, June 6, 2008, 3:00 p.m.

Eike Schmidt, associate curator, Department of Sculpture and Decorative Arts, the J. Paul Getty Museum
Friday, April 11, 2008, 3:00 p.m.
Friday, April 25, 2008, 3:00 p.m.

Kenneth Lapatin, associate curator, Department of Antiquities, the J. Paul Getty Museum
Friday, May 9, 2008, 3:00 p.m.
Friday, June 20, 2008, 3:00 p.m.

GettyGuideTM Audio Player

Pick up an audio player on the first floor of the Museum to hear art and medical historians discuss works in the exhibition.