A WORLD of ART, RESEARCH, CONSERVATION, and PHILANTHROPY | Fall 2016 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

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A WORLD OF ART, RESEARCH, CONSERVATION, AND PHILANTHROPY | Fall 2016 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

theGETTY Fall 2016 TABLE OF President’s Message 3 n October, we will present the fourth annual J. Paul CONTENTS New and Noteworthy 4 Getty Medal to two of our generation’s greatest artists— Iposthumously to the painter and sculptor Ellsworth Getty Medal 6 Kelly and to cellist and cultural ambassador Yo-Yo Ma. For more than forty years, Ellsworth enlivened the world with The Salk Institute Conservation Project 10 elegant, sometimes eccentric shapes and colors, and was tireless in his pursuit of artistic perfection. Yo-Yo Ma is A Golden Reunion 14 driven by artistic excellence and the power of music to build bridges between cultures. In 1998, he established the Silk The Art of Alchemy 18 Road Ensemble to create meaningful change at the intersec- tion of the arts, education, and business. You can read more A Future for Modern Architecture 22 about these exceptional artists in our cover story. This issue of The Getty magazine also includes articles Book Excerpt: Real/Ideal 27 on two new exhibitions opening at the Getty Center this fall. The Art of Alchemy, opening at the Getty Research New from Getty Publications 28 Institute on October 11, explores how this subject that has often been shrouded in secrecy greatly influenced the shift- New Acquisitions 30 ing interpretations of the relationship among art, science, and natural philosophy. At the Getty Museum, The Shimmer From The Iris 32 of Gold: Giovanni di Paolo in Renaissance Siena, also open- ing on October 11, explores the distinctive and imaginative Getty Events 34 style of the artist, and for the first time in modern history, reunites the known parts of his masterpiece, the Branchini Exhibitions 38 Altarpiece (1427). The central panel—the magnificent Branchini Madonna—is on loan from the Norton Simon Jim Cuno From the Vault 39 Museum and will join four of its predella panels, one from the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands and three from the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena. The Getty Foundation focuses on the latest round of architectural elements—the teak window walls set within grants for Keeping It Modern, an initiative focused on sup- the buildings’ noble and monolithic concrete walls. The Salk Send correspondence and address The J. Paul Getty Trust is a cultural and The J. Paul Getty Trust is a tax-exempt porting model projects for the conservation of modern Institute is also a recipient of a Keeping It Modern grant changes to philanthropic institution dedicated to organization under Section 501(c)(3) architecture. The latest grants for nine projects in nine from the Getty Foundation, and a comprehensive conserva- Getty Communications the presentation, conservation, and in- of the Internal Revenue Code (the different countries extend the program’s reach to Africa, tion management plan for long-term care of the site is almost 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 403 terpretation of the world’s artistic legacy. “Code”), and is specifically classified as and include the first two buildings selected for support that complete. Los Angeles, CA 90049 Through the collective and individual a private operating foundation under were designed by women. Since its inception in 2014, the I hope you can visit the Getty Center or the Getty Villa Email: [email protected] work of its constituent programs—Getty Section 4942(j)(3) of the Code. Con- initiative has to date supported thirty-three model projects. this fall and see for yourself all of the beautiful and important Conservation Institute, Getty Founda- tributions to the Getty are deductible Finally, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) reports exhibitions and educational programming on offer. You can tion, J. Paul Getty Museum, and Getty under Section 170 of the Code and may on its partnership with the Salk Institute for Biological also connect with us online at getty.edu, or through Facebook, Research Institute—the Getty pursues also be deductible for federal estate and Studies in La Jolla, California. Its campus, designed by Louis Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. its mission in Los Angeles and through- gift tax purposes. Prospective donors Kahn, is widely considered to be a masterpiece of modern out the world, serving both the general should consult their own legal and tax architecture. The GCI has lent its expertise in addressing interested public and a wide range of advisors in connection with gift and the aging and long-term care of one of the Institute’s major professional communities in order to planning matters, as the Getty cannot promote a vital civil society through an provide tax advice. understanding of the visual arts. On the cover: Untitled, 1988, Ellsworth Kelly. Copper. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Gift of Fran and Ray Stark. © Ellsworth Kelly

2 3 NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

Getty Research Portal Updates Getty Rothschild Fellowship Marking the occasion of its four-year anniversary, the Getty Research The Getty and the Rothschild Foundation Portal™, created by the Getty Research Institute (GRI), has been re- have partnered to create the Getty Roth- built and redesigned, making it easier to explore the digitized literature schild Fellowship, which will support in- of art history. The portal is an online catalog providing free access novative scholarship in the history of art, to books and journals from contributing institutions. It launched in collecting, and conservation, using the 2012 with eight international institutions as founding members and collection and resources of both institu- Cultural Exchange Agreement has recently added a number of important new contributors: the Art tions. The fellowship offers art historians, with Naples Institute of Chicago’s Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, the Bibliotheca museum professionals, and conservators The J. Paul Getty Museum signed an Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome, the Cleve- the opportunity to research and study agreement with the Museo Archeo- land Museum of Art’s Ingalls Library, the Herzog August Bibliothek in at both the Getty in Los Angeles and logico Nazionale in Naples to conserve a Wolfenbüttel, the Menil Library Collection in Houston, and the War- Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, signature ancient vase in its collection, burg Institute Library in London. There are now more than 100,000 England. The inaugural fellow is Dr. the Colossal Red-Figure Krater from volumes available on the portal. As the number of texts have grown, so David Saunders, a foremost expert in the Altamura, Apulia. Nearly six feet in have the number of individual portal visitors, which has surpassed the area of conservation science. Dr. Saun- height and dating to around 350 BC, the 70,000 mark, indicating it to be a destination of growing utility for hu- ders is a former principal scientist at the krater is a masterpiece of the ornately manities researchers. Digitized books and journals from the GRI have National Gallery and keeper of conserva- decorated vases produced at Taranto been viewed nearly fourteen million times on the Internet Archive tion, documentation, and research at the in Apulia, in southern Italy. Richly website, which hosts the scanned versions of the Research Institute’s British Museum. Now an independent painted, it features a highly detailed titles and makes them available for download in a variety of formats. researcher, Saunders is writing what will representation of the underworld popu- To explore the Getty Research Portal, visit portal.getty.edu. be a seminal book about museum and lated with more than twenty mythologi- gallery lighting. The annual fellowship is cal figures, including the gods Hades administered by the Getty Foundation. and Persephone, the musician Orpheus, the hero Herakles, and Sisyphus, who was eternally punished by having to roll a giant boulder up a hill. This project is the latest in a broad cultural exchange agreement made in 2007 between Italy’s Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Tourism and the Getty Museum Colossal Red-Figure Krater from that has contributed to the preserva- Altamura, Apulia, about 350 BC. tion of Italy’s rich cultural heritage. The Museo Archeologico Nazionale in project is being supported by the gener- Naples (MANN) ous assistance of the Getty Museum’s Villa Council.

Robert W. Lovelace Joins Board of Trustees Robert W. Lovelace, an executive with Capital Group, has joined the J. Paul Getty Board of Trustees. Mr. Lovelace is a portfolio manager for the American Funds and president of the New Perspective and New World funds. He is also vice chairman and a director of the Capital Group Companies, and president and a director of Capital Research and Management Company, a subsidiary of Capital Group. “Rob’s addition to the board further strengthens our financial expertise,” said Jim Cuno, president of the J. Paul Getty Trust. “He also brings a deep commitment to the public and profes- sional values of the Getty as an international visual arts institution.”

4 5 GETTY MEDAL 2016 GETTY MEDAL 2016

Ellsworth Kelly & Yo -Yo Ma

6 7 GETTY MEDAL 2016 GETTY MEDAL 2016

“Ellsworth saw beauty in everything. He was more visually alive than any- one I know. Every new work was a new adventure for him, a new way of work- ing and making things of extraordinary visual delight,” said Jim Cuno, presi- dent of the J. Paul Getty Trust. “Maria Hummer-Tuttle and I were set to meet with him just days before he died. He knew of the Getty’s honor and expressed pleasure and pride in receiving it.” “Ellsworth strongly believed in the importance of preserving our natu- ral and cultural heritage. For nearly twenty-five years, the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation has supported the conser- vation of historical and contemporary art at museums and heritage sites in the US and around the world, as well as the preservation of the natural envi- ronment. The foundation also gives generously to arts and education proj- ects in our local community,” said Jack Shear, president of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. “Ellsworth continued to make new work right up until the end of his life; that was always the most important thing to him,” said Shear. “And, while he preferred the studio to the spotlight, he models new forms of cultural exchange and in celebrating both tradition and was truly honored to be chosen as the through performances, workshops, innovation, as the Getty has so success- n the surface, the connections between artist Ellsworth Kelly and musician recipient for the J. Paul Getty Medal.” and residencies. The artists of the fully done, we are building bridges and and cultural ambassador Yo-Yo Ma may not be obvious. But the link between ensemble draw on the rich tapestry of creating trust.” Othe two becomes apparent when seen through the lens of the Getty’s mis- Yo-Yo Ma traditions from around the world that Past recipients of the J. Paul Getty sion to present, conserve, and interpret the world’s artistic legacy in order to pro- In addition to his accomplished career make up our many-layered contempo- Medal have included Harold Williams mote a vital civil society—a belief that the world can become a better place when as a master cellist, Ma founded the rary identities, weaving together the and Nancy Englander, Lord Jacob art, the humanities, and cultural and public policy work together. The J. Paul Getty Silk Road Ensemble and the nonprofit foreign and familiar to create a new Rothschild, and Frank Gehry. Trust will award its highest honor, the annual J. Paul Getty Medal, posthumously, to Silkroad to promote the creation of new musical language. This year’s Getty Medal celebration Kelly and to Ma at a celebratory dinner in October. The Getty Medal was established music, cross-cultural partnerships, edu- “The Getty shares Yo-Yo’s commit- is supported by the Board of Trustees in 2013 by the trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust to honor extraordinary contribu- cation programs, and cross-disciplinary ment to artistic excellence and cross- of the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Getty tions to the practice, understanding, and support of the arts. collaborations to create meaningful cultural understanding,” said Cuno. President’s International Council, with “With this medal we honor two of our nation’s greatest artists: Yo-Yo Ma for his change at the intersection of the arts, “Our work around the world is inspired generous support also provided by distinguished contributions to the conservation and understanding of the world’s education, and business. Inspired by the by the same values as those of Silkroad, Arlene Schnitzer, Jordan Schnitzer, and many and diverse cultures, and Ellsworth Kelly for his mastery in paintings and exchange of ideas and traditions along that the best prospects of the future The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE sculptures of the highest quality and originality,” said Maria Hummer-Tuttle, chair, the historic Silk Road, Ma established rest on a greater understanding of the Foundation; as well as our corporate J. Paul Getty Board of Trustees. the namesake organization in 1998 to interrelationship of the world’s many sponsors Accenture, J.P. Morgan Private explore how the arts can advance global cultures.” Bank, Neiman Marcus, and JUSTIN Ellsworth Kelly understanding. “It is a great honor to receive the Wines, Landmark Wines, and FIJI Water. Ellsworth Kelly was inspired by the vitality and variety of the world’s diverse Since 2000, the musicians of the J. Paul Getty Medal, and to have this Opposite: Blue Red, 1968, Ellsworth Kelly. Oil on canvas, two joined panels. 73 natural and artistic forms, from plants and shadows to medieval architecture and Silk Road Ensemble have been central very special recognition of the impor- 3/4 x 161 1/8 in. (187.33 x 409.26 cm). The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection. ancient Chinese bi discs. “My paintings don’t represent objects,” he once said. “They to Silkroad’s mission. Under the artis- tance of cross-cultural engagement,” © Ellsworth Kelly

are objects themselves and fragmented perceptions of things.” And the things that tic direction of Ma and representing a said Ma. “Culture and communication Above: Yo-Yo Ma during a Silk Road Ensemble concert in Izmir, Turkey. © Aykut attracted Kelly’s artistic attention knew no political boundaries. global array of cultures, the ensemble are the keys to our work at Silkroad, Usletekin, courtesy of International Izmir Festival

8 9 THE SALK INSTITUTE CONSERVATION PROJECT

ompleted in 1965, the Salk Institute for in Kahn’s office and used in projects from the Fisher Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, is House outside of Philadelphia to the Library at Cone of architect Louis Kahn’s finest works Phillips Exeter Academy. Though the window walls and is widely considered to be a masterpiece of are prefabricated units—often thought of as an modern architecture with international signifi- industrialized process—Kahn innovatively synthe- cance. Kahn was commissioned by Dr. Jonas Salk, sized industry and craft through the customization developer of the polio vaccine, to design an inspir- of the units to fit many different openings in the con- ing campus for his new scientific research institute crete and the detailing of the teak wood by carpen- on a coastal bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. ters. The very use of wood together with concrete, Kahn worked closely with Salk on the design, "often conceived of as materials of opposite char- which consists of two nearly identical wings of acter,"1 results in a contrasting but complementary laboratory, study, and office space mirroring each effect. The fine-grained detailing of the window walls other on either side of a paved central plaza. A key design feature of the Salk Institute is the physical separation of the private study spaces from the col- lective workspace of the laboratories. The innovative teak-clad “window wall” assem- blies, set within the monolithic concrete walls of the studies and offices, are significant components of the building. The use of individual window walls constructed with teak, softwood framing, and inte- rior oak paneling for the studies, in contrast to the large expanses of stainless steel-framed window walls of the laboratories, helps to differentiate the private study spaces. The focus on the individual in the studies is further expressed by the functional- ity of the various sliding components that allow occupants to modulate light and ventilation within their work spaces. The design of the window walls expands upon a

Project team carrying out a language of custom exterior millwork established preliminary condition survey of the teak window walls.

11 CONSERVATION PLANNING AND CONCRETE CONSERVATION WORKSHOPS

In late July, the GCI with the Getty Foundation and the United Kingdom–based Twentieth Century Society held two workshops in London for grantees of the Foundation’s Keeping It Modern initiative, which is dedicated to the conservation of twenti- eth-century architecture around the world. The workshops—supported with a Getty Foundation grant to the Twentieth Century Society—brought together owners and professionals currently work- ing on projects exemplifying a range of conservation challenges of twentieth-century built heritage to exchange knowledge and learn new skills. the historic preservation consultant to the Salk Institute, The first workshop, on conservation manage- developed a series of on-site trial mock-ups to evaluate dif- ment plans, involved more than thirty participants ferent repair approaches and conservation treatments and and fifteen outstanding works of modern architec- identify the best way to move forward. ture, including the recently listed World Heritage “We sought to address issues on a long-term basis Site, L’appartement-atelier de Le Corbusier in Paris; while preserving cultural significance and addressing the Pierre Jeanneret’s Gandhi Bhawan building in needs of those managing the site,” said Sara Lardinois, Chandigarh, India; the Salk Institute for Biological project specialist at the GCI. “Our aim was to help the Salk Studies in La Jolla, California; and the Arthur Neiva Above: View of the Salk Institute’s iconic central plaza looking out with their narrow vertical tongue-and-groove In 2013, the Salk Institute partnered with the Getty Institute incorporate a conservation approach into its Pavilion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While conserva- towards the Pacific Ocean. Photo boards and horizontal trims set in multiple planes Conservation Institute (GCI) to develop a conserva- overall site management at a critical point in the building’s tion management plans are a fundamental tool in courtesy of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies contrast with the larger expanses of relatively flat tion program for the window wall assemblies. history—the fifty-year mark often coincides with the need conservation practice, they have not been univer- concrete walls. “The Salk Institute is an architectural icon, and for a first major repair in modern buildings.” sally applied to modern heritage. The workshop Opposite page: During the project mock-up phase, different finishes Teak was selected for the exterior wood the Getty was privileged to be invited by the Salk to Drawing upon the results of the GCI’s earlier research provided the opportunity for practitioners to dis- were trialed on sample panels of as it was thought to be a durable, relatively work with them on the building’s long-term pres- and the trial mock-ups, WJE has fully developed the repair cuss a range of challenges specific to modern heri- existing weathered (left) and new (right) teak maintenance-free material. Its weathered gray ervation. Our access to the site, its archives, and the and conservation treatment of the window walls, with tage, establish a network of colleagues, exchange appearance was also thought to be compatible institute’s staff, some of whom have worked there interventions ranging from in situ cleaning and treatment, ideas, and expand their understanding of this Previous page: View of the study interiors, with their oak paneling with the color of the adjacent concrete. However, since the early years, has been extraordinary,” said to selective repairs, and replacement of deteriorated ele- important methodology. The workshop included and floors and exposed concrete teak is a natural material and weathers differen- Tim Whalen, director of the GCI. “The methodology ments using like-for-like materials. Construction work is site visits to the National Theatre and the Barbican walls and ceilings. Sliding louvers and glazed window sashes allow tially depending on orientation and exposure to developed by the GCI will serve as a roadmap for currently underway and is estimated to be completed in Centre and the opportunity to meet British col- occupants to modulate light and air. the environment. Thus, uniformity in this gray future conservation projects at the Salk Institute, as spring 2017. Work is also nearing completion on a compre- leagues engaged in this area of work. Photo courtesy of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies appearance could never be achieved across the well as a model for other Louis Kahn buildings and hensive conservation management plan for long-term care The second workshop, which convened ten building if the weathering process were left to buildings with similar conservation issues.” of the site, funded by a grant from the Getty Foundation’s projects dedicated to the conservation of concrete, occur naturally, due to the different exposures. As a first step, the GCI and its consultants Keeping It Modern initiative. included sites such as the Sydney Opera House, Most of the components of the window wall engaged in historical research, including visits to the “As stewards of this designated historic architectural the Miami Marine Stadium, Frank Lloyd Wright’s assemblies remain unchanged from the time Khan archives and listening to the collection of oral landmark which attracts visitors from around the world, Unity Temple, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s of their original construction and retain a high histories in order to better understand the signifi- we needed a long-term conservation plan to preserve Hill House in Scotland. Given the growing number degree of integrity. However, due to decades of cance of the window walls and Kahn’s original vision the integrity of the Salk Institute for years to come,” said of listed concrete buildings and their conservation exposure to a marine environment, the deteriora- for the site. They also explored the extent of damage Tim Ball, Salk’s senior director of facility services. “The challenges, this subject is of increasing impor- tion of the window walls is cause for concern. As to the window walls and performed physical and thorough insights and expertise provided by the GCI are tance to the field. Participants shared information expected, they have weathered to a non-uniform laboratory analysis to identify the materials used invaluable for helping us move forward in repairing and on diagnostic and investigative tools and meth- appearance, further exacerbated by surface ero- and the various causes of damage and deterioration. maintaining these remarkable buildings.” ods, and colleagues from Historic England and sion, fungal growth, and past cleaning practices. Possible treatments for the wood and wood replace- the Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Surface finishes, intended to protect and improve ment options were also researched, as well as design Historiques in France presented their advisory and the appearance of the teak, have differentially modifications to improve the overall performance research work. A number of site visits to recent weathered, resulting in extreme color variations, of the assemblies. Finally, the GCI, along with the concrete conservation projects provided an oppor-

while water infiltration and termite infestations architectural and engineering firm Wiss, Janney, 1 Brownlee, David B. and David G. De Long. Louis I. Kahn: In the Realm of Architecture, 1997. tunity for participants to observe recent approaches have damaged some of the internal wood framing. Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE), which served as Grand Rapids: Universe, p. 100 in this challenging area of conservation.

12 13 The Branchini Madonna, 1427, Giovanni di Paolo. Tempera and gold leaf on panel. The Norton Simon Foundation A Golden

small panel painting depicting The Adoration of the Magi by Giovanni di Paolo was a guest of honor in the Getty’s paintings conservation studio last A fall. Lent by the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands and sent to the Getty for study and conservation, upon its arrival it was discovered that exciting new scholarship by Dóra Sallay (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest) had identified the painting as part of a larger group, the Branchini Altarpiece. The central panel of that altarpiece—Giovanni di Paolo’s masterpiece, The Branchini Madonna—serendipi- tously resides in the collection of another important Southern California institution, the Norton Simon Museum. The Shimmer of Gold: Giovanni di Paolo in Renaissance Siena, on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center from October 11, 2016–January 8, 2017, reunites for the first time in modern history the central panel, generously loaned by the Norton Simon, with four of the five predella panels (a series of small paint- ings in a long narrow strip forming the lower edge of an altarpiece). Organized by Yvonne Szafran, senior conservator of paintings; Bryan C. Keene, assistant curator of manuscripts; and Davide Gasparotto, senior curator of paintings, the exhibition will present the known parts of the Branchini Altarpiece alongside illuminated manuscripts by Giovanni and his close collaborators and contemporaries. The con- servation work and the exhibition have been generously supported by the Paintings Council of the Museum. Giovanni di Paolo (about 1399–1482) was one of the most distinctive and imagi- native artists of Renaissance Siena. The prestigious commissions received by this painter and illuminator over his lengthy career reveal a range of patrons, including private individuals and families, guilds, the Pope, and numerous religious orders. Many archival documents and signed works of art testify to Giovanni’s prolific career, especially in Siena, but several works were also produced elsewhere in the Italian peninsula. As an emerging artist, he drew inspiration from the artistic tradi- tions of northern Italy. In the 1420s, Giovanni and fellow artists in Siena responded enthusiastically to the courtly splendor of the work of newly arrived painter Gentile da Fabriano, who immediately worked with, and sometimes under the supervision of, Siena’s leading creative personalities.

14 been found, but technical analysis may Family Collection and by James E. and among artists, patrons, and even help to identify them in the future. Elizabeth J. Ferrell. In order to demon- religious institutions. At times, influ- “Studying the material aspects of strate the influence and rivalry between ences flowed between the two cultural the paintings has allowed us to make Siena and Florence, several manuscript centers, as movement of individuals the technical connections that support pages by artists from both cities, such and commodities between cities often the scholarship already proposed,” said as the Master of the Osservanza and coincided with civic competitions or Szafran. “State-of-the-art imaging tech- Lorenzo Monaco, are presented in the festivals. The elegance and splendor niques show us important details about exhibition. of royal courtly arts commingled the paintings’ physical makeup, con- “It was not uncommon for two or with a new approach to rendering firming their probable origins as a single more illuminators to collaborate on the three-dimensional space, the body, work of art.” same manuscript, and the exhibition optical effects, and landscapes based Some scholars have suggested that reunites pairings of pages once part of on Classical forms and models—a the young Giovanni may have worked the same choir book,” said Keene. “But style that would eventually embody a on the Branchini Altarpiece with one one of the great challenges in study- “Renaissance,” or rebirth in aesthet- of the most successful artists in Italy ing Renaissance art is that numerous ics and learning. The Shimmer of Gold at that time, Gentile da Fabriano, a pieces were cut up as part of later col- brings together works from both artis- painter who traveled to Tuscany from lecting practices. Exhibitions like this tic centers to highlight the significance northern Italy and undertook numerous one allow curators and conservators to of artists’ journeys in central Italy, the commissions. delve deeper into the working methods importance of devotional and liturgi- “Giovanni’s altarpiece may, in of painters and illuminators.” cal commissions for the blending of fact, be based on a now-lost master- regional painterly approaches to figure piece painted by Gentile in Siena—the Siena and Florence and surface, and the influences each Madonna dei Banchetti—which was In fifteenth-century Tuscany, the towns city had on the other. greatly esteemed in its time,” said of Siena and Florence thrived on rivalry Gasparotto. Gentile must have influenced Giovanni’s technique, as many simi- larities in their painting methods exist. The sophisticated layering of paint and gold, as well as the careful execution of elaborate and fine decorative details is evident in the work of both artists, and each was a master at depicting the Above: Senior Conservator Yvonne Szafran and Assistant Curator Bryan The Branchini Altarpiece flowers strewn beneath Mary, contrasted with the luxury brocaded textiles and animal furs Keene examine The Adoration of the The Branchini Altarpiece was originally commis- sumptuous fabrics of her robes, represent a key that were valued during this period. Magi and The Branchini Madonna along with other works in the Paint- sioned for a family chapel in the church of San moment of transition in Sienese art. The naturalis- ings Conservation Studio. Domenico in Siena. Considered by many scholars tically painted flowers and rich detail given to the Illuminations to be Giovanni di Paolo’s masterpiece, it was com- fabrics worn by the Virgin and Christ exemplify the Presented along with the Branchini Opposite page: The Adoration of the Magi, 1427, Giovanni di Paolo. pleted in 1427, and the central panel—the spec- prestigious and sophisticated late-Gothic style in Altarpiece are numerous manuscript Tempera on poplar. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, the Netherlands tacular signed and dated Branchini Madonna—was Siena. The artist inscribed the bottom of the frame illuminations by Giovanni di Paolo and until recently the only portion identified as part of in Latin: “Giovanni of Siena son of Paolo painted his contemporaries. A small but visually the altarpiece. Surrounded by multi-winged sera- [this in] 1427.” Additional inscriptions include the powerful historiated initial from the phim, the Virgin Mary holds the infant Jesus who opening lines of the Ave Maria and a poignant mes- Getty’s collection shows God the Father reaches tenderly for his mother. God the Father sage written in Mary’s halo: “I painted this for you, appearing to the biblical king David. is presented at the top of the painting, gestur- Virgin. Protect this man.” Surrounding the figures, the body of ing toward the mother and son. Giovanni used a This impressive picture, along with the pre- a fantastic dragon forms a letter A, variety of luminous effects to achieve the range of della panel from the Kröller-Müller Museum, have which once opened a chant from a choir golden hues found in the panel painting: stamping recently been conserved and studied at the Getty. book. A shimmering gold background and tooling gold, applying translucent paints over The remaining three known panels, on loan from adds to the sumptuous quality of the gold, and scraping back over the paint so the reflec- the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena, will be reunited piece. The exhibition will also include tion of gold shines through. Seen in candlelight, in this exhibition with the surviving portions of the only other manuscript leaves and the whole ensemble would have been intensely the altarpiece for the first time in modern history. cuttings by Giovanni in the United spiritual. Attention to such natural details as the Other missing parts of the altarpiece have not yet States, generously lent by the Burke

16 17 hat is alchemy? Long shrouded in secrecy, alchemy is now recognized as the ancestor of modern chem- Wistry. While one might picture cloaked figures huddled over beakers and other lab equipment attempting to make synthetic gold, the goals of alchemy were far more ambi- tious: it aimed at nothing less than to harness the powers of creation and to outdo nature itself. The Getty Research Institute (GRI) will examine this often misunderstood subject in the exhibition The Art of Alchemy, on view from October 11, 2016–February 12, 2017, at the Getty Center. Curated by the GRI’s Associate Curator for Rare Books David Brafman, with assistance from Rhiannon Knol, the idea to delve deeper into the subject came to Brafman as he examined a manuscript from the Manly Palmer Hall collec- tion, which the GRI acquired in 1995. Hall was a scholar, phi- losopher, and longtime Los Angeles resident who founded the Philosophical Research Society and had spent a lifetime build- ing a collection of rare books and manuscripts on alchemy and mysticism. The GRI had originally acquired the collection for its importance to the history of visual symbolism. Brafman, however, began to uncover more. “I came across a recipe for color pigments in a 1606 alchemy manuscript from Naples. The more I poked around, the more it became clear that many alchemists weren’t just preoccupied with turning base metals into gold, but were sup- porting themselves by making art supplies and pharmaceuti- cal medicines,” said Brafman. The GRI already had a collection of books and archives on nineteenth- and twentieth-century color theory, and it became clear to the rare books curator that this alchemy col- lection provided a strong resource for the earlier history of the science of color from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment.

18 in the twelfth century. While other art forms sought to imitate In a larger cultural sphere, it is an alchemist whom his- nature by ‘capturing’ it, i.e., rendering a pictorial reproduc- tory credits with the modern invention of pharmaceutical tion of it, the art of alchemy chemically replicated nature. For medicine, a particularly fortunate happenstance, as it was also alchemists, grasping the scientific secrets that created natural alchemists who invented gunpowder, and pushed the limits of phenomena was synonymous with directing and manipulat- its pyrotechnic force from entertaining displays of fireworks ing the forces which drove them. Alchemical laboratory work to the rocket fuels supplying propulsion for ballistic weaponry was consumed with perfecting techniques to create synthetic in war. The theoretical framework within which alchemy replicas of the physical stuff of nature. In fact, in medieval operated—the scientific urge to understand and harness the Europe alchemy was called “The Great Art;” in Islam it was elemental properties forming the basis of all physical mat- known simply as “The Art.” ter—also informed core concepts of fusion and fission in mod- Alchemical experimentation in the history of art alone ern nuclear physics. Alchemy in its many transmutations has produced oil paints, writing inks, color pigments and dyes; manifested itself throughout the history of world civilizations, malleability of metal-alloys for sculpture, ornament, engi- and its spirit—the urge to transform nature and bend it to the neering, and architecture; transparency in glass and the opac- will of an industrious human imagination—still permeates the ity of reflective mirrors; acidic washes essential to etching and world we make today. lithography; and the media that now claim artistic boasting So, what is alchemy? “Alchemy was a science blended with rights as the ultimate chemical mirrors of nature: photogra- spirituality and infused with an extra spritz of artistic spirit,” phy and the liquid crystal displays of the digital world. said Brafman.

Previous page: Allegory of Distillation (detail), 1606. From Claudio de He found himself drawn further and further of the subject in antiquity, as well as its philosophical Domenico Celentano di Valle Nove, into alchemy’s relationship to the materiality of theories about the nature of creation itself. “Alchemy [Book of Alchemical Formulas] (Naples, 1606), p. 6. Ink and art throughout history. The next step in Brafman’s and Creativity” reveals the impact of alchemy on the watercolor on paper. Manly Palmer thinking was easy—and just one building away. The visual arts in both Asia and Europe, while the final Hall Collection of Alchemical Manu- scripts. The Getty Research Institute, Getty Museum owns objects that are the products of section, “Alchemical Culture,” demonstrates how its 950053, box 22 alchemical techniques for making art. “I went to talk legacy still persists in the modern world.

Above: The Material Universe, 1863. to Nancy Turner [Getty Museum manuscripts con- “Most people think of alchemy as a fringe sub- From Mungo Ponton, The Material servator] to pick her brain about the production of ject, when really it was a mainstream technology Universe: Its Vastness and Durability (London, 1863), frontispiece. Chro- synthetic pigments, and found out that she had also and world view that impacted artistic practice and molithograph. The Getty Research been looking at alchemy texts as primary sources for expression throughout the world, from antiquity to Institute, 2990-850 medieval-color recipes. I then asked if she knew who the modern age,” said Brafman. “Alchemy may well Opposite: Alchemical Equipment, in the world might be an expert on the deliberate use be the most important human invention after that of about 1700. From “Traité de chy- mie,” (France, ca. 1700), pp. 10–11. of corrosives for patination effects on metal sculp- the wheel and the mastery of fire. Certainly, it was a Ink and watercolor on paper. Manly ture,” said Brafman. “She pointed to the door and direct consequence of the latter.” Palmer Hall Collection of Alchemical Manuscripts. Getty Research said, ‘Right down the hall, Jane Bassett [conservator Alchemy is everywhere. It represents a history of Institute, 950053, box 13 of sculpture and decorative arts]. My chat with Jane humanity puzzling over how everything in the world led to a discussion of such techniques in antiquity, came into being, then putting the puzzle together and she pointed me to Maria Svoboda and Eduardo through painstaking laboratory tests in an attempt Sanchez, antiquities conservators at the Villa. So, not to create a unified picture of the physical world we only did the Getty have the art objects, but also the live in. Throughout its history, alchemy has attracted world-leading expertise that I needed.” many types of thinkers with a desire to contemplate In addition, Brafman consulted with vari- the world with their imagination—scientists, phi- ous scientific experts at the Getty Conservation losophers, and artists alike. For anyone tantalized by Institute, particularly Alan Phenix, to delve into the the wonders of nature, alchemy seemed to hold the early medieval distillation of resins and the origins key to unlocking the secrets of creation. of oil paint. The Getty was the ideal place to present Certainly, alchemy was key to the history of an exhibition on the relationship between alchemi- materiality in the visual arts. Chemically synthesized cal history and art history from antiquity to the colors and other techniques of artistic artifice were modern age. the products of alchemical invention. “Alchemy is The exhibition is divided into three main sec- the art that most closely imitates nature,” wrote tions. “Alchemical Creation” examines the origins Albertus Magnus, the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas,

20 21 Villa E-1027, Les unités de Camping, Cap Moderne. Photo: Manuel Bougot www.manuelbougot.com 2016

n the coast of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, just outside of Monaco, sits a small home with a big history. Villa E-1027, Odesigned by famed modern architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray, is a masterpiece that attends to the practical and spiritual needs of its inhabitants through its dazzling white interior and exterior, its light and airy floorplan, and its isolation (the villa is inaccessible by car). The villa was also a witness to the relationship between Gray and her partner, architecture critic Jean Badovici, and was irreversibly altered by legendary architect Le Courbusier. After Gray and Badovici ended their relationship, Badovici continued to live in the home, and allowed Le Courbusier to paint seven murals on the interior—in oppo- sition to Gray’s original vision. Today, the structure is threatened by exposure to corrosive sea air and water runoff from its steep slope, and the structure and the murals require extensive research and repair. To address these complex problems, an expert team supported by the Getty Foundation’s Keeping It Modern architecture conservation ini- tiative is stepping in to protect this architectural treasure from contin- ued deterioration. The Eileen Gray project is among $1.3 million in new architectural conservation grants announced by the Getty Foundation in July for exemplary twentieth-century buildings as part of Keeping It Modern. The latest grants for nine projects in nine different countries extend the program’s reach to Africa, and include the first two buildings selected for support that were designed by women. Since its inception in 2014, the initiative has to date supported thirty-three projects that serve as models for the conservation of modern architecture around the world. “Like the Eileen Gray home, each Keeping It Modern project has its own fascinating history. But what they all share is a commitment to thorough investigation before intervention,” said Deborah Marrow, director of the Getty Foundation. “Modern architecture is a powerful symbol of innovation, and Getty grants are ensuring that some of the era’s most important buildings around the world are protected for the future as their experimental materials age.”

This year’s grantees include:

• Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro (São Paulo, Brazil) • Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027 (CÔte d’Azur, France) • Nickson and Borys’s Children’s Library (Accra, Ghana) • Wallace Harrison’s First Presbyterian Church (Connecticut, United States) • Eladio Dieste’s Cristo Obrero Church (Atlántida, Uruguay) • Gevorg Kochar and Mikael Mazmanyan’s Sevan Writers’ Resort (Yerevan, Armenia) A FUTURE FOR • Sir Frederick Gibberd’s Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral (United Kingdom) • Gautam Sarabhai’s workshop building (Ahmedabad, India) • Andrija Mutnjakovic’s National Library of Kosovo (Prishtina, Kosovo)

23 The new projects address common ongoing Obrero Church in Atlántida, Uruguay, makes use challenges facing twentieth-century architecture, of reinforced brick, creating delicately shaped including the need to better understand aging undulating forms with a technique of which we architectural concrete, one of the most widely used have little knowledge in terms of conservation materials in modern architecture, and its proper practice. This building’s conservation manage- treatment. Another issue is the use of clear and col- ment plan has the potential to inform the future ored glass, including large colored panes (dalle de preservation of hundreds of other buildings verre), which were often set directly into concrete. that use similar construction materials and Research in these areas through the Getty grants techniques.” will continue to generate models for the conserva- tion field. SPOTLIGHT PROJECTS Several previous Keeping It Modern grant Opposite: Casa de Vidro. © Leonardo recipients are close to completing or have com- Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro Finotti relationship with nature and the land- Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe, and pleted rigorous analysis of the construction mate- Today, glass houses exist in countries all over the scape, which was part of Bo Bardi’s Charles Eames, will also provide informa- Above: Cristo Obrero Church. rials and design of their buildings, and they have world, but in 1951 building a house with large glass © Leonardo Finotti vision. The back of the house is solidly tion towards the conservation of Casa de developed conservation strategies that address panes as those of Casa de Vidro was still a novel connected to the hill on which the entire Vidro. key problems (see side bar). Also emerging from and experimental idea. The daring design comes structure sits. The project will build this work is an understanding of the benefits of a from the hand of architect Lina Bo Bardi, known upon knowledge gleaned from previous Eladio Dieste’s Cristo Obrero Church conservation management plan, a relatively new as the designer of some of Brazil’s most iconic Keeping It Modern projects, as the team Situated on the outskirts of Atlántida in development for twentieth-century architecture modern buildings. Bo Bardi built Casa de Vidro as will work with the University of Ferrara Uruguay, the Cristo Obrero y Nuestra which helps stewards of modern buildings plan for a personal residence after emigrating from Italy, and Fundação de Apoio à Universidade Señora de Lourdes church is a modern long-term maintenance and preservation. and it represents a critical point in her career. de São Paulo, which received a 2015 marvel by celebrated Uruguayan archi- “The projects supported by Keeping It Modern With this building she embraced the opportunity grant for its Architecture Faculty build- tect and engineer Eladio Dieste. Dieste were selected not only for their architectural sig- to experiment with new ideas about architecture, ing. The Ferrara engineering team will rejected the traditional use of brick in nificance, but because of their potential to serve laying the ground for ideas that would emerge conduct a 3D topographic survey of favor of an experimental approach that as models and to move toward new solutions and more fully in her later, more mature commissions, the site that will identify any structural treats the material as if it were fully pli- standards in the field as a whole,” says Antoine such as the São Paulo Museum of Art. deformations that are not visible to the able, and the church’s undulating exterior Wilmering, senior program officer at the Getty The house gracefully floats above the founda- naked eye. A meeting for researchers is testament to his vision. Over the years, Foundation. “These latest grants underscore tion, suspended on delicate posts. Through panes and custodians of other glass houses Dieste developed and refined a number that purpose. For example, Eladio Dieste’s Cristo of sliding glass, the house maintains a seamless of the same period, such as those by of other groundbreaking features that

24 25 BOOK EXCERPT KEEPING IT MODERN include free-standing vaults and folded planes, all PHASE ONE UPDATES of which were based on his rigorous understand- Real/Ideal ing of geometry, engineering, and the integration of steel and brick. The bell tower is equally inge- Photography in nious, with its perforated walls and an open circu- lar staircase that ascends without a single support Mid-Nineteenth- column or handrail. Alvar Aalto’s Paimio Sanatorium (Paimio, Finland) While the church has been maintained by Paimio Sanatorium, originally conceived as a medical instru- Century France the local community, it has begun to show signs ment to treat tuberculosis, faced an uncertain future before Edited by Karen Hellman of aging, including leaks that require immediate the Getty Foundation gave $180,000 to develop a conservation attention. Compounding the need for repair is the management plan (CMP) for the site. The recently completed With contributions by Sylvie fact that Dieste’s engineering is not always fully plan has helped the hospital administration that owns the site Aubenas, Sarah Freeman, understood, making it difficult to develop conser- to see the building’s value. The CMP will be used to adapt parts Anne de Mondenard, vation plans without in-depth technical analysis. of the site for contemporary use, while maintaining elements of To address the problem, a team of national and the original fabric as protected displays, such as the colorfully Karlyn Olvido, and Paul-Louis international experts will use Getty support to painted interiors that were subject to multiple studies. The con- Roubert embark on a rigorous study of the church and bell servation policies detailed in the plan provide protection mea- tower. The technical studies will shed light on the sures and long-term care strategies for the building, and act as nature of Dieste’s structural innovations, which a model to guide the preservation of other Aalto buildings and In the years following the announce- will inform the conservation and care of his many modern-era buildings. ment of the invention of photography in 1839, buildings across Uruguay and beyond. practitioners in France gave shape to this intriguing new medium through experimenta- Michel de Clerk’s Het Schip (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) tion in compositions and processes. Featuring Children’s Library in Accra, Ghana A stunning example of the Amsterdam School of architecture works by key figures, such as Édouard Baldus, The Children’s Library is a jewel in Ghana’s and design, “The Ship” (Het Schip) was an unprecedented Gustave Le Gray, and Charles Nègre, this post-colonial building campaign that established experiment in designed living for the working class. Thanks elegant volume investigates photography’s Accra as a center of West African Modernism, to the Foundation’s $180,000 grant, a team of conservation early history when the ambiguities inherent in and reflects the country’s growth and optimism specialists paired with staff from the on-site museum and the photograph were ardently debated. following independence. The architectural conducted research into the design of the building’s unique firm of Nickson and Borys designed the library decorations, the restoration of damaged and missing elements, In 1851, while each of these four pho- in 1966, and it is a prime example of Tropical the development of a long-term maintenance plan, and a guide tographers [Baldus, Nègre, Le Gray, and Le Secq] was developing his individual tech- Modernism—deceptively simple with its sleek for sustainable care for The Ship’s tenants. It recently opened niques with the paper-negative process, each lines and lack of ornamentation. The space is an exhibition celebrating one hundred years of the Amsterdam also played a role in one or both of two major open, airy, and was built with an external shell School, and it includes key results of the Keeping It Modern photographic organizations in Paris — the Commission des monuments historiques to of nature, observation, and reproduction are structure, called bris de soleil, that shields the grant research. Societe heliographique and the Mission photograph hundreds of key historical monu- transformed via the medium of photography façade from the direct heat of the sun. The build- heliographique. The Societe heliographique, ments in France in order to record them into dream, surprise, and fear. The tangible is ing is so adaptable that it doesn’t need an indoor Max Berg’s Centennial Hall (Wroclaw, Poland) of which Baldus, Negre, Le Gray, and Le Secq before they were transformed through resto- transformed into the intangible. climate control system—an incredible feat for a Centennial Hall was once the largest reinforced concrete were founding members, was the first pho- ration under Napoleon III. That a mechanical device was capable region known for its high temperatures. structure in the world, and a marvel of modern architecture tographic society in the world. In formation In both organizations, photography’s of effecting such a transformation was also and in membership, the society was a micro- relationship to industry and to art, its “real” a point of discussion for members of the Apart from its architectural grace, the build- and engineering during its construction in the early-twentieth cosm of the wide range of artistic, scientific, and its “ideal” dimensions, was integral to Societe heliographique in assessing the ing has intangible value as a repository of books century. Funds from the Foundation’s $200,000 grant allowed commercial, and industrial practices and the photographers’ choice of subjects and medium’s purported realism. In the first issue for the thousands of children that have walked every nook and cranny of the structure to be measured with applications embraced by the medium. In how they depicted them. In an early issue of La lumière, critic and contributor Francis through its doors. While innovative for its time, the latest laser technology to form a 3D model, which was used addition to the photographers comte Olympe of La lumière, the journal of the Societe Wey (1812–1882) marveled at the various the building has never been upgraded nor studied to develop a Building Information Model that could define site Aguado (1827–1894), Jean-Louis-Marie- heliographique, Negre proposed that, in pho- ways in which a photographer could, as Negre in any detail. The Keeping It Modern grant will conditions and monitor change over time. This helps build- Eugene Durieu (1800–1874), and Joseph, tography, “where science ends, art begins.” In did, alter a photographic image by improving ensure that the building is preserved to the high- ing stewards respond as needed to shifts that might threaten vicomte Vigier (1821–1894), the member- other words, the artist picks up where the sci- the negative, stating: “Photography translates est standards moving forward. Led by ArchiAfrika, the structure’s integrity or design. With all this informa- ship included the Realist Champfleury; the entist leaves off. Negre continued: “When the perfectly, but to surpass this, it must not only an organization that is a strong advocate for pre- tion in hand—combined with an advanced understanding of Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix (1798– chemist prepares the paper, the artist directs translate but interpret.” 1863); the physicist and photographic experi- the lens, and by means of the three beacons serving modernism in Western Africa, a dedicated Centennial Hall’s architectural significance and innovative menter Edmond Becquerel (1820–1891); the that guide him ceaselessly in the study of This excerpt is taken from the book group of local experts and an international team structural engineering, the building’s CMP, and its conservation archaeologist, art historian, and bureaucrat nature — observation, feeling, and reason- Real/Ideal: Photography in Mid-Nineteenth- of specialists will develop a conservation plan. policies—the building will now have custodians fully prepared Leon de Laborde (1807–1869); and the ing — he reproduces the effects that make us Century France, published by the J. Paul Getty to preserve it for the next hundred years. engraver Desire-Albert Barre (1818–1878). dream, the simple patterns that move us, and Museum. ©2016 by The J. Paul Getty Trust. A full list of Keeping It Modern projects is By contrast, the Mission heliographique was the sites with powerful and bold silhouettes All rights reserved. available at getty.edu/foundation. established by the government-sponsored that surprise us and frighten us.” The study

26 27 NEW FROM GETTY PUBLICATIONS

Getty Publications produces award-winning titles that result from or complement the work of Marie Antoinette her execution at the hands of the revolu- the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Research Institute. tionary tribunal. The exquisite objects that These books cover a wide range of fields including art, photography, archaeology, architecture, Hélène Delalex, Alexandre Maral, and Nicolas populated Marie-Antoinette’s rarefied sur- conservation, and the humanities for both the general public and specialists. Milovanovic roundings—beautiful gowns, gilt-mounted furniture, chinoiserie porcelains, and opu- Order online at shop.getty.edu Marie-Antoinette (1755–1793) continues lent tableware—are depicted. But so too are to fascinate historians, writers, and film- possessions representing her personal pur- makers more than two centuries after her suits and private world, including her sewing death. She became a symbol of the excesses kit, her harp, her children’s toys, and even The Invention of the American Art Museum displays of regional history. American of France’s aristocracy in the eighteenth cen- the simple cotton chemise she wore as a con- From Craft to Kulturgeschichte, 1870–1930 trustees, museum directors, and curators tury that helped pave the way to dissolution demned prisoner. The narrative is sprinkled found that the Kulturgeschichte approach of the country’s monarchy. The great mate- with excerpts from her correspondence, Elena Crippa and Catherine Lampert offered a variety of transformational options rial privileges she enjoyed and her glamorous which offer a glimpse into her personality in planning museums, classifying and dis- role as an arbiter of fashion and a patron of and daily life. American art museums share a mis- playing objects, and broadening collecting the arts in the French court, set against her Visually rich and engaging, Marie- sion and format that differ from those of categories, including American art and the tragic death on the scaffold, still spark the Antoinette offers a fascinating look at the their European counterparts, which often decorative arts. Leading institutions, includ- popular imagination. multifaceted life of France’s last, ill-fated have origins in aristocratic collections. This ing the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the In this gorgeously illustrated volume, the queen. groundbreaking work recounts the fascinat- Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, authors find a fresh and nuanced approach ing story of the invention of the modern adopted and developed crucial aspects of the to Marie-Antoinette’s much-told story J. Paul Getty Museum American art museum, starting with its roots Kulturgeschichte model. By the 1930s, such through the objects and locations that made 216 pages, 9 1/2 x 11 1/4 inches in the 1870s in the craft museum type, which museum plans and exhibition techniques up the fabric of her world. They trace the 225 color illustrations was based on London’s South Kensington had become standard practice at museums major events of her life, from her upbring- ISBN 978-1-60606-483-2, hardcover (now the Victoria and Albert) Museum. across the country. ing in Vienna as the archduchess of Austria, US $49.95 At the turn of the twentieth century, to her ascension to the French throne, to American planners grew enthusiastic about Getty Research Institute a new type of museum and presentation 256 pages, 8 x 10 inches that was developed in Northern Europe, 119 b/w illustrations particularly in Germany, Switzerland, and ISBN 978-1-60606-478-8, hardcover Scandinavia. Called Kulturgeschichte (cul- US $49.95 tural history) museums, they were evocative

Hans Hofmann Materials series, presents a thorough exami- Dangerous Perfection Bringing together archival documenta- The Artist’s Materials nation of Hofmann’s late-career materials. tion and technical analyses, this volume Initial chapters present an informative over- Ancient Funerary Vases from Southern Italy provides a comprehensive study of the vases Dawn V. Rogala view of Hofmann’s life and work in Europe Edited by Ursula Kästner and David Saunders and their treatment from the nineteenth and America and discuss his crucial role in century up to today. In addition to lavish The career of German-American painter the development of Abstract Expressionism. In 2008, the Berlin Antikensammlung illustrations, two in-depth essays on the his- and educator Hans Hofmann (1880–1966) Subsequent chapters present a detailed anal- initiated a project with the J. Paul Getty tory of the vases and on Gargiulo’s work, as describes the arc of artistic modernism from ysis of Hofmann’s materials and techniques Museum to conserve a group of ancient well as detailed conservation notes for each pre–World War I Munich and Paris to mid- and explore the relationship of the artist’s funerary vases from southern Italy. object, this publication also features the first twentieth-century Greenwich Village. His mature palette to shifts in the style and aging Monumental in scale and richly decorated, English translation of Gargiulo’s original career also traces the transatlantic engage- characteristics of this paintings. The book these magnificent vessels were discovered text on his understanding as to how ancient ment of modern painting with the materi- concludes with lessons for the conservation in hundreds of fragments in the early- Greek vases were manufactured. als of tis own making, a relationship that is of modernist paintings generally, and partic- nineteenth century at Ceglie, near Bari. This is the companion volume to an perhaps still not completely understood. In ularly those that incorporate both traditional Acquired by a Bohemian diplomat, they were exhibition on view at the Getty Villa, from these interrelated narratives, Hofmann is and modern paint media. reconstructed in the Neapolitan workshop November 19, 2014, to May 11, 2015, and a central protagonist, providing a vital link This book will be of value to conserva- of Raffaele Gargiulo, who was considered then at the Antikensammlung, Staatliche between nineteenth- and twentieth-century tors, art historians, conservation scientists, one of the leading restorers on antiquities Museum zu Berlin from June 17, 2015, to art practice and between European and and general readers with an interest in mod- in Europe. His methods exemplify what was June 18, 2017. American modernism. The remarkable vital- ern art. referred to as “une perfection dangereuse,” ity of his later work affords insight not only an approach to reassembly and repainting J. Paul Getty Museum into style but also the literal substance of Getty Conservation Institute that made it difficult to distinguish what was 176 pages, 7 x 10 inches this formative period of artistic and material 160 pages, 7 1/2 x 10 inches ancient and what was modern. 140 color and 16 b/w illustrations innovation 50 color and 40 b/w illustrations ISBN 978-1-60606-47604, hardcover This richly illustrated book, the fourth ISBN 978-1-60606-487-0, paperback US $60.00 in the Getty Conservation Institute’s Artist’s US $40.00

28 29 NEW ACQUISITIONS

Left: Memorial Sheet for Karl Klinger—the single most influential Funerary amphora with scenes of Liebknecht, 1919, Käthe Kollwitz. mourning, 720–700 BC, attributed Woodcut. Getty Research Institute painter, printmaker, and sculptor of the to the Philadelphia Painter. Athenian. late-nineteenth century—whose book, Terracotta. The J. Paul Getty Museum Opposite, bottom: Study for Heinrich von Kleist’s Broken Jug, 1876, Malerei und Zeichnung (Painting and Adolph Menzel. Graphite. J. Paul Getty Museum, Gift of Dr. Richard A. Drawing), asserted the independence Simms in honor of Lee Hendrix of graphic art and inspired Kollwitz to turn away from painting and focus on printmaking, is carefully documented in the acquisition. With both a discerning eye and deep knowledge of the work’s considerable research value, Dr. Simms energeti- cally acquired key prints and drawings from Kollwitz’s prime creative and experimental decades (1890–1930). He succeeded in assembling the foremost research collection on Kollwitz and her contemporaries, which complements the two museums, in Cologne and Berlin, devoted exclusively to Kollwitz. acquisition of over 650 works com- family, mourning, and social justice The acquisition includes a sig- Unparalleled prises a partial gift that represents the expressed by powerful representations nificant gift to the Getty Museum, a largest donation of graphic art received of the human body: mothers and chil- masterpiece by Adolph Menzel (1815– by the Getty to date. Dr. Simms is the dren, men and boys attached to ploughs, 1905), the drawing Study for Heinrich Greek Geometric Amphora Collection of founding chair of the GRI Council and a mourners on a battlefield, and uncom- von Kleist’s Broken Jug, 1876. It has founding member of Disegno, a council promising self-portraits. been donated in honor of Lee Hendrix, The J. Paul Getty Museum has The vase is one of the finest Dr. Richard that unites collectors to provide sup- Kollwitz adhered to figurative art who recently retired from her position acquired an ancient Greek vase exem- examples of the final flourishing of the port to the Museum’s Department of in an era of increasing and colorful as head of the Museum’s Department of plifying the late Geometric style that Geometric period, around 720-700 BC, A. Simms Drawings. abstraction, and because she was a Drawings. marked the beginning of classical when the first appearance of human The Simms Collection is recognized woman in a field dominated by men, Greek art. The two-handled, long neck figures marks the beginning of classical in the US and Europe as one of the most only a few specialists have closely stud- amphora is 27.5 inches in height and Greek art. The excellent quality of the The Getty Research Institute important resources for the study of ied her experimental techniques, work- is decorated with rows of figures and decorative patterns and figures allows (GRI) has acquired a major collection German art and history from the late- ing methods, and creative processes. geometric patterns including meanders, the vase to be attributed to the so-called of works on paper accumulated by nineteenth to early-twentieth century. Simms’s objective, as he described it, waves, cables, and checkerboards. The Philadelphia Painter, an anonymous internationally renowned collector Kollwitz was one of the great draftsmen was to build a collection that would figures on the vase include dancing artist whose name piece is in the col- Dr. Richard A. Simms. This collection, and printmakers of the modern period, be worthy of hanging on the walls of a women and men, a flute player, grazing lection of the University Museum assembled over forty years, was built which is evident in the forty-one draw- great institution and be a catalyst for horses, men in chariots, and warriors in Philadelphia. Other works by this around Simms’s abiding interest in ings and 236 etchings, woodcuts, and research on the techniques and content carrying round shields. Snakes molded painter are in Brussels, Berlin, Bern, and German artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867– lithographs collected by Simms. Many of Kollwitz’s work. from terracotta decorate the shoulder, Athens. 1945) and includes works by artists in are working proofs—unfinished prints The unparalleled research value rim, and band handles. The vase was Partial funding for the purchase of her orbit—Max Klinger (1857–1920), upon which she worked out an evolving of the collection also lies in the prints made specifically for funerary use to this object was made possible by the Emil Nolde (1857–1956), Otto Greiner composition in pencil, gouache, and and drawings by other closely related accompany a burial, and the dancing Getty Museum’s Villa Council. (1869–1916), Ludwig Meidner (1884– chalk. Kollwitz’s name invokes unfor- artists. The influence of major artis- figures and chariot races are thought 1996), Ernst Barlach (1870–1938), gettable images of the human condi- tic figures, such as Barlach, whose to depict the funeral ritual, while the and George Grosz (1893–1959). The tion—war protests, suffering, solidarity, woodcuts inspired her techniques, and snakes refer to the underworld.

30 31 FROM THE IRIS

A Curator’s Keen Eye Reunites Statue’s Head with Body

When you work with ancient objects, new discoveries are often small: a frag- ment of a vase, for example, or half an earring. But Jeffrey Spier, the Getty Villa’s senior curator of antiquities, recently stumbled upon something much bigger. This past spring, Spier was in New York and dropped by a gallery in Above left: Statue of Draped curator Jens Daehner began going through the tool drill in combination with hard impacts to the Female (early 3rd century, Ro- midtown Manhattan. While there, he man. Marble. The J. Paul Getty artworks in storage to assess them for the Villa front of the neck. When the head was brought to turned around and noticed the marble Museum) awaiting restoration. collection’s coming reinstallation (scheduled the Villa, Sanchez and fellow associate conservator head of a stern-looking older woman Above right: Archival photo- for 2018). The headless Statue of Draped Female Jeff Maish created a lightweight replica of the bro- mounted on a pedestal by the wall. graph still of the statue with proved intriguing to them, and with the help of ken neck surface to test its fit to the neck break on its head. “I immediately thought: That’s the provenance researchers Judith Barr and Nicole the body. The fit was inarguably perfect, except for head!” recalled Spier. Opposite: Roman marble head Budrovich, they found documentation that con- some missing fragments in the front of the neck. recently acquired by the Getty Decades of studying Greek and will be rejoined to its Statue firmed the statue did have its original head while Spier assumes the Roman woman must have Roman art and a keen visual memory of Draped Female. Courtesy of on the art market in the early-twentieth century. had significant wealth and status to have such a Royal Athena Galleries (an indispensable skill for any cura- Yet sometime before 1972, as the seven-foot-tall large statue made of her. She could have been a wife tor) snapped into place. Spier had just lady circulated through several European collec- of a Roman emperor, whose portraits were often identified a carved marble head that had tions, she was decapitated. on coins—and, a hunt through coins of the period been mysteriously missing for decades But why? And by whom? Spier and his col- has begun. While the head and body are prepared from the body of the Getty’s two thou- leagues can only speculate on a motive: perhaps the for re-capitation (not a typical task for antiquities sand-year-old Roman Statue of Draped portraits. Unlike the Greeks, they didn’t when he returned to the Villa, shared neck partially broke in transit and then the owner conservators), the antiquities team is continuing to Female. create idealized beauty. So once I saw them with his colleagues. All agreed that decided to remove the head, or maybe a former comb through nineteenth-century catalogues and To most people, ancient classi- a photograph of this sculpture’s miss- a fortuitous match had been made. owner felt they could make a larger profit selling travel guides in French, Italian, and Latin, trying cal sculptures probably look similar: ing head, I recognized it easily, the way The whereabouts of the Roman two separate pieces rather than one tall statue. to flesh out the details of the statue’s past, and to remarkably graceful drapery, straight you’d recognize a person you’d met woman’s head had been a mystery for Whoever deprived this Roman woman of her head discover the identity of the Roman woman she was noses, perfect physiques. But as Spier before.” He laughed, “When I saw it I decades. The statue was acquired by the wasn’t particularly careful about it. Associate modeled after. explained, “Roman sculptors prided thought: Don’t I know you?” Spier took Getty in 1972 and is currently in storage. Conservator Eduardo Sanchez suspects that the themselves in accurate and realistic photos of the head on his phone and, About a year ago, Spier and associate head was broken off intentionally by use of a power Visit The Iris, the Getty’s blog, at blogs.getty.edu.

32 GETTY EVENTS

Getty Villa Annual Outdoor Theater Production Haunted House Party, A Roman Comedy Evoking the spirit and improvisation of Roman traveling comedy troupes, the Troubadour Theater Company presented this adaptation of Plautus’s Mostellaria in the Villa’s Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater.

Photos by Craig Schwartz. 3 4 1. Left to right: Beth Kennedy (Grumio/Mr. Mon- eygrub/Producer) and Matt Walker (Tranio/Direc- tor and Adaptor) 2. Left to right: Misty Cotton (Delphium), Joey Keane (Philematium), Nicholas Cutro (Philolaches), Mat- thew Patrick Davis (Callidamates), Leah Sprecher (Pinacium/Phoenicium) 3. Left to right: Leah Sprecher, Misty Cotton, Karole Foreman (Scapha), Michael Faulkner (Theoprop- ides), Matt Walker, Rick Batalla (Slave-Boy/Simo), Suzanne Jolie Narbonne (Erotium), Nicholas Cutro, and Joey Keane 4. Left to right: Misty Cotton, Suzanne Jolie Nar- bonne, Joey Keane, Leah Sprecher, and Karole Foreman 5. Left to right: Nicholas Cutro and Joey Keane

6. Left to right: Karole Foreman, Michael Faulkner, 1 5 6 Matt Walker, Misty Cotton, Rick Batalla, Leah Sprecher, Joey Keane, Matthew Patrick Davis, Nicholas Cutro, and Beth Kennedy 7. Left to right: Michael Faulkner and Matt Walker 8. Left to right: Matt Walker, Rick Batalla, Beth Ken- nedy, Misty Cotton, Suzanne Jolie Narbonne, and Nicholas Cutro

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34 35 GETTY EVENTS

Find Something They’ll Love at the Getty Store 2016 Event Highlights This past spring, the Getty welcomed two critical influencers in the world of Find unique gifts for everyone on your list, from visual arts. American singer-songwriter, artisan jewelry and hand-blown vases to award- poet, and artist Patti Smith shared her songs, verses, and stories at the Getty winning arts publications and elegant scarves in celebration of her enduring friend- ship with Robert Mapplethorpe. And and ties. The Children’s Shop is sure to inspire renowned German painter and sculptor the younger set with hands-on activity kits, toys Anselm Kiefer followed suit a few nights later discussing his continued explora- that encourage creative play, and beautifully tion of the impact of ancient literature and philosophy on Western culture. 1 illustrated books for all ages.

1. Tacita Dean and Patti Smith 2. Getty President Jim Cuno with Rosetta and Balthazar Getty 3. Getty Villa Council member Paul Balson and Anselm Kiefer 4. David Hockney and J. Paul Getty Museum Director Timothy Potts

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36 EXHIBITIONS FROM THE VAULT

with pigments to imitate precious stones and gems, such as emeralds, chalcedony, pearls, and even gold. Right: Three Studies of Women, While galalith was ultimately unsuitable for its AT THE 1620s, Abraham Bloemaert. Red chalk heightened with white original purpose, it was capable of being drilled, GETTY gouache. The J. Paul Getty Museum embossed, and cut, and became a go-to material CENTER for various odds and ends of everyday life, from Far right: The Deer Park, 1962, Michael Andrews. Oil on panel. glasses frames, buttons, and piano keys to combs, Tate: Purchased 1974. barrettes, and compact mirrors. It also became an © The Estate of Michael Andrews, courtesy James excellent substitute for expensive materials like Hyman Gallery, London horn, pearl, and ivory—and was able to take on all the colors of the rainbow. One of the first designers Right: bottom: Tarascon, 1852, Charles Nègre. Waxed paper to see the potential of galalith for jewelry was the negative with selectively applied pigment. The J. Paul French merchant Auguste Bonaz, who began creat- Getty Museum London Calling: Bacon, Freud, Kossoff, ing brooches made of the new material inspired Andrews, Auerbach, and Kitaj by the Bauhaus style in the early 1920s. This trend Through November 13, 2016 eventually caught fire when, in 1926, Coco Chanel published a picture of the now-iconic “little black dress” in Vogue magazine and accessorized it with costume jewelry made of galalith. The German designer Jakob Bengel elevated costume jewelry and other plastics from fake to “chic” with his Drawing: The Art of Change creative, sensitive products and a high level of October 4, 2016–January 1, 2017 workmanship. High fashion was made available to the growing middle class, who might not be able to The Shimmer of Gold: Giovanni di Paolo afford real gemstones, but could afford galalith. in Renaissance Siena The urge to replicate the artistry of nature October 11, 2016–January 8, 2017 (for pennies on the dollar) has dominated artistic culture since antiquity, and is still alive today. The The Art of Alchemy Real/Ideal: Photography in France, goals of the earliest alchemists have been realized October 11, 2016–February 12, 2017 1847–1860 in our new synthetic world, where we have discov- Below: Spectral Analysis, From Plastic to Fantastic ered how to harness the chemical bonds of nature negatives 1977; prints Through November 27, 2016 about 2008, William Leavitt. The Alchemy of Color in Medieval to create what we need in the laboratory. Chromogenic prints. Above: Galalith (“Milk Stone”) The J. Paul Getty Museum. Manuscripts Richard Learoyd: In the Studio sample book, milk protein, formal- This trade sample book, created in the 1920s © William Leavitt October 11, 2016–January 8, 2017 Through November 27, 2016 dehyde, and pigments in Galalith by Internationale Galalith Gesellschaft Hoff & Co., (Harburg-Wilhelmsburg, ca. 1920), p. 2. Getty Research Institute, contains the product galalith, a synthetic plastic Recent Acquisitions in Focus: Latent 2990-802.pl2 made of formaldehyde and casein, first developed

Narratives Right: Glass Imitating Agate, AD in the late-nineteenth century as part of an effort Through January 29, 2017 1–100. Roman. J. Paul Getty to create a new “dustless” chalkboard material. The Museum name “galalith” comes from the ancient Greek for The Life of Art: Context, Collecting, “milk stone,” a reference to the fact that its major and Display ingredient, casein, is a protein commonly found Ongoing in milk (and a major component of cheese). While the modern “Age of Plastics” was ushered in by the development of industrial chemistry in the nine- teenth century, producing many new kinds of syn- thetic materials—including other cheap synthetic plastics like Bakelite, celluloid, and Lucite alongside Mosaic Floor with Combat Roman Mosaics Across the Empire new pigments like aniline coal tar dyes—its basis is A small container from the Getty Villa AT THE Between Dares and Entellus, Gallo-Roman, about 175. Through January 1, 2018 as old as civilization. The intriguing brilliance and provides a striking comparison: swirls of GETTY Stone and glass tesserae. The J. Paul Getty Museum translucence of galalith was inspired by another colored glass in this ancient Roman vessel VILLA common material: glass. Used in the ancient world imitate the variegated hues of agate, a much as we use plastic today, glass could be molded and more expensive material. blown into a panoply of different shapes, and mixed

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What is Alchemy? To unsubscribe, please visit INSIDE www.getty.edu/magazineoptout. THIS ISSUE Reuniting an Ancient Masterpiece A Future for Modern Architecture

Conserving Teak at the Salk Institute

Initial A: Christ Appearing to David, about 1440, Giovanni di Paolo. Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink on parchment. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. 29, recto