THE GETTY VILLA, Malibu, CA: Ancient Art in a Spectacular Setting

Entry to the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA

Ever since I studied Latin in high school, I have been intrigued by ancient Roman culture. The Getty Villa in Malibu brings back fond memories of the scale model of a Roman villa that I once made as an extra credit project in ninth grade. Just like the Getty Villa, my model had colonnades or peristyles, reflecting pools, and atria with doorways opening into adjacent rooms and workshops, which I filled with tiny furniture and tools. The difference is that at the Getty Villa the rooms have been organized into 23 galleries filled with over 1,200 pieces of amazing Roman and Greek antiquities ranging from life-size marble statues, painted pottery and glass, to jewelry, mosaics, ancient tools and more. Organized thematically, they help one imagine what life was like two millennia ago.

Walkway in the Outer Peristyle. The design of the Getty Villa is modeled on the Villa dei Papiri, a wealthy Roman country home that was buried when Mt. Vesuvius had erupted in 79 A.D.

Earlier this summer I visited the Getty Villa with my family. (I had gotten tickets–which are free–ahead of time at the Getty site on the web.) As we entered at the parking level, a docent recommended that we enter the museum through the herb garden (filled with meticulously cared for herbs, vegetables, and fruit trees) and then watch the short introductory video before touring the galleries.

Statue in the Inner Peristyle

The video gives an overview of J. Paul Getty, his art collection, and the building of the villa. As my granddaughter explained, “Getty built the museum because he had so much art that it didn’t fit in his house any more.” (In the early days, Getty opened his home a few days a week for visitors to view his art.) Even after the villa opened as a museum in 1974, there was still not enough room for Getty’s growing collection, which included not only antiquities, but paintings, furniture and other art. Many of these are now on view at the Getty Center in Brentwood. The Getty Villa is dedicated to the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria.

Getty Kouros

We started our visit in the room with paintings and sculptures of Roman and Greek gods and goddesses. I learned that Dionysos (Greek) or Bacchus (Roman) played an important role in many aspects of life. We then proceeded to rooms displaying mythological heroes, women and children, men in antiquity and more. In the center of one room is an over-life-size statue Getty bought in 1985.  Known as a type of statue called a kouros, it depicts a standing nude youth and is intended to represent the idea of youth. Despite detailed analysis, its history remains a mystery.

My favorite gallery was the one that depicted animals including elaborately carved marble bears and vases with delicately drawn birds and beasts.

The Cafe has tables both inside and out.

We had a delicious lunch in the museum Café, sitting outside on the deck with a view of the museum and adjacent hills. Afterward, we browsed in the excellent gift shop below.

Painted ceiling at entry to Inner Peristyle

No matter where we looked, every detail of the Villa was carefully planned--from the designs painted on walls and ceilings, to the marble floors, garden alcoves and placement of windows that framed views of the gardens. Nestled in a canyon in the hills above the Pacific coast, the Villa has a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean.


With a landscape and climate not unlike that of Italy, the Getty Villa is a place where one can imagine, if just for a moment, time traveling to an ancient world.

Flowering artichoke in the herb garden. Other typical Mediterranean plants fill the garden.