This SDG will be led by Marilyn Ruman, who has served as a docent at the Getty for 27 years, since the Getty Center opened in 1997. In addition to her knowledge of the collection, she has inside stories to share. The primary focus will be taking a closer look at some of the the museum’s collection. Participants will make an in-depth study of 10 significant works selected by the coordinator. The goal is to give participants a new way of viewing and appreciating art.
The first week, led by the coordinator will be introductory and held at the Getty center. It will cover its history and include a tour of the buildings and the garden. Weeks 2 and 5 will also be held at the Getty Center These sessions will be held in the morning starting at 10, last 3 hours, with an optional group lunch in the cafeteria.
The last 7 sessions will focus on the collection. 2 of these sessions, to be led by the coordinator onsite at the Getty. These will focus on 2 major periods/movements: Renaissance and Impressionist. Each of the 2 visits will focus on a subset of the 10 significant artworks in the collection that we will study in depth. This will include works by artists including, but not limited to, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Gogh, Renoir, Titian, Monet, and possibly Turner. Note: the coordinator will arrange reduced price or possibly free parking for these visits but we will need to carpool. The coordinator will also include some optional subjects on each of these two visits, from the following possibilities: Photography, Manuscripts, Conservation, or special exhibits.
The remaining 5 weeks will be held at Gayley and led by the remaining participants. Each of these weeks will focus on 2 of the 10 selected artworks. We will do an in-depth study of the work itself, the artist, the historical context, and compare this work to related works by the same or other artists.
Note: The artworks will be finalized at a later time but well before Registration. The current plan is to select 14 works as follows: 4 Renaissance, 4 Baroque, and 4 Impressionist and 2 TBD which may precede or follow the 3 primary periods in time.
Week 1 – introduction: Getty tour of buildings and garden
Week 2 – Getty Tour prior to weeks 3-4 Discussions
Week 3 – Artworks 1-2
Week 4 – Artworks 3 -4
Week 5 – Getty Tour for Weeks 6-8
Week 6 – Artworks 5-6
Week 7 – Artworks 7-8
wedk 8 - Artworks 9-10
The primary source will be the Getty Center Website:
https://www.getty.edu/visit/center/
Note: The coordinator will provide a special link used by docents.
2 Paperbacks:
The J. Paul Getty Museum: Handbook of the Collection
Inside the Getty
There are also many online resources such as Wikipedia, WikiArt, and YouTube available for research. Participants will be expected to do their own research and assign the materials for the sessions they lead.