See the latest from Getty Museum’s digital offerings, including podcasts, digital exhibitions, news and stories.
The face on the leaf
Photographer, artist, and writer Accra Shepp has exhibited his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the International Center of Photography, MoMA, and many other museums. He also created an artist’s book, Atlas, which combines many of his most innovative processes, including collotypes on leaf—a personal adaptation of an old process in which light-sensitive, gelatin-coated film is transferred to a leaf.
Revealing the secrets of a 16th-century painting
In the third season of Getty’s Close Looking video series, curators explore details of artworks they cherish. In this episode, Getty’s Senior Curator of Paintings Davide Gasparotto discusses Parmigianino’s Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene, a work he always stops to admire when walking through the galleries.
A (Dragon’s) Brief History of Time
Episode 5 of Getty’s family-friendly podcast features a dragon atop a clock who explains the history of clocks—from sundials and waterclocks, to medieval clocks with bells, to household mechanical clocks like his. Not only is his clock a marvel of machinery, it’s also an artistic wonder, showcasing the strength and beauty of a special new kind of porcelain.
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A story to read for Banned Books Week
Although methods of censorship have changed dramatically over time, the desire to control access to ideas has remained remarkably consistent. From the Nazi campaigns against “degenerate art” to Cold War–era underground publishing networks, censorship and responses to it have continually adapted to new technologies, political climates, and cultural anxieties.
The creative ways readers, writers, and artists have shared forbidden ideas
A journey into the life of Mai
Mai was the first Polynesian to travel to England and the subject of one of the most powerful portraits produced in 18th-century Britain (Portrait of Mai, now on view at the Getty Center). This two-part online presentation dives deep into his incredible life: his childhood on a lush volcanic island in the South Pacific, the Bora Boran takeover of his homeland and death of his father during that battle, his journey to England in search of a military partnership to retake his homeland, his entry into British high society…
Explore the presentation
Part 1
Part 2
A griffin sees it all
One giant blue orb dotted with stars, six griffins, 12 zodiac symbols, 18 candle holders, countless crystals—and even a bowl to fill with goldfish! Have you ever seen something so elaborate hanging from the ceiling? In this episode, one of the griffins on the Galle chandelier shares juicy gossip from dinner parties past.
Antigone finds new fierceness in the Aztec Empire
Set in the vibrant world of pre-conquest Tenochtitlan, Mexico, the Latino Theater Company’s Antigone: In the Language of Kings reimagines a classic tragedy and confronts themes of loyalty, familial duty, and the clash between divine law and state edict. But how to adapt Sophocles for today’s audiences? We asked director José Luis Valenzuela and playwright Evelina Fernández—spouses and cofounders of the Latino Theater Company.
About Antigone’s relevance today, Aztec costumes, Indigenous music, and more
The surprising history of the colour green
How have artists made green throughout history?
In this episode of Becoming Artsy, Jessie visits the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa to explore pigments like verdigris, malachite, green earth, and copper resinate. She also speaks with manuscripts curator Larisa Grollemond and paintings conservator Ulrich Birkmaier, who explain how the pigments have changed, and how green has connected to nature, art, chemistry, and conservation over time.
New season of If Objects Could Talk launches
In If Objects Could Talk, art and artifacts leave the museum vault and come alive to share their side of the story. Featuring objects from the Getty Museum collection, each episode introduces listeners of all ages to the history, creation, and everyday use of incredible items. And you’ll find coloring pages, discussion guides, and related activities on the page for each episode.
First up in Season 2: “The Magnificent Microscope and the Fabulous Flea," which spotlights a French compound microscope considered the height of scientific knowledge in the 18th century. It allowed science lovers like King Louis XV to discover new worlds in small things.