On the way to KKs work, I suddenly asked to be dropped off at the Getty Villa, and she complied, leaving me just outside the gate. After calling the office on the cell, providing a street address, and waiting at a bench in view of the security cameras, they figured I was harmless and cleared me for entry. I hopped in the van for a ride up the driveway to Getty’s creative reconstruction of an ancient Roman villa packed with antiquities. I began by getting the audio guide, and procured another cup of coffee to prepare for the full tour. I spent the entire day rolling through the galleries, between the heroes and the gods, the Trojan war, the Etruscans, even passing through the Roman fountains and courtyards every so often for refreshment. The Spanish carrying-sculpture, of the woman tending Jesus’ carcass, was beautiful, standing out in vibrant color. I was now in the Color of Life special exhibition, and as I was gazing into the eyes of the bust of Caligula, a docent came through with his group – I was soon self-recruited. Very knowledgeable, the guide went on to describe that the marble statues of the Greeks and Romans were painted, although modern scientists and curators still do not know how. Was it in garish primary colors for visibility high above in a temple frieze? Or, were they painted with colored wax to be as realistic as the marble sculptures beneath? Well, my mom is headed for Athens in a few days, so I’ll ask her what the word is in the Old World.
