Unearthing the buried history of Christiansborg Castle
UNESCO-recognized Christiansborg Castle in Ghana has been a 17th-century Danish trading post, a British seat of colonial government administration, the Office of the President of the Republic of Ghana, and during the transatlantic slave trade, the point at which captive African men, women, and children were forcibly imprisoned and trafficked to St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas.
Getty Scholar Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann—whose great-great-great-great-great grandfather was the Castle’s governor in the mid 19th century—and Getty Graduate intern Tom Keep are reimagining how scholars approach research and share stories related to the transatlantic slave trade. One idea? Create 3D-printed replicas of fragile relics. “That increases access to these artifacts,” says Keep. “Anyone with a computer can study them.”
A photographer’s search for identity
How can artists capture the experience of searching for belonging? How do they visualize the anxiety of being uprooted from a familiar place? A major Getty acquisition of photographs by Josef Breitenbach offers answers and expands the presence of this innovative 20th-century artist and his experimental work in Los Angeles.
Inside a medieval book of wronged women
In this video, curator Larisa Grollemond talks about one of her favorite works—a 1493 manuscript given to 16-year-old Anne of Brittany, queen of France, probably as a wedding present. Oddly, the book was filled with stories of women who were wronged by their lovers or husbands. “You might be thinking that stories of jilted lovers might not be the best wedding present, but it does give us a lot of insight into the kinds of conversations that were happening around female power at the French court,” says Grollemond.
How does your body feel when you wait?
Slow down and explore your body’s experience of patience (and impatience) inspired by Edgar Degas’s enigmatic pastel drawing Waiting (L’Attente), made around 1882. This final mediation of the season invites you to breathe, reflect, and recover during life’s inevitable delays, pauses, and holdups.
In this week’s bonus episode: New York Times dance critic Gia Kourlas on the less glamorous aspects of ballet
Rethinking the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Saturday, September 19, 11 am
Online
The Egyptian Book of the Dead is widely known as a guidebook to the afterlife. Yet when we look closely, its texts and images often suggest prayers and ritual instructions that make little sense in relation to death. Egyptologist Rune Nyord explores whether modern interpretations have been shaped by Christian ideas of trial, judgement, and salvation and offers a fresh reading of the ancient texts rooted in their Egyptian cultural context.
Register for this free online talk
Édouard Manet, Jeanne Demarsy, and the Art of Parisian Chic
Saturday, September 26, 4 pm
Getty Center and online
Édouard Manet’s paintings of modern Parisiennes offer more than elegant exteriors; they reflect the complex ways women fashioned their identities in late 19th‑century Paris. This talk examines Jeanne Demarsy, the model for Manet’s Jeanne (1882), whom critics would declare the most beautiful woman in the world. Drawing on newly uncovered photographs, illustrations, and even a scandalous lingerie bill, art historian Justine De Young reveals the real woman behind Manet’s canvas. A book signing with De Young follows this talk.
The art of photo booths
Photo booth images—a classic, surprisingly flattering summer staple—didn’t always look how they do today. From shaky beginnings all the way to their influence on the modern selfie, photo booth pics have lived many lives and spawned various trends. But where did they come from exactly, and are they still relevant in today’s digital age?
Vintage, purikura, Warhol’s, where to take photo booth pics today
Broadening the idea of what American art is
The new book Black Curators Matter: Conversations on Art and Change brings together conversations between six influential curators and a new generation of art professionals, including LeRonn Brooks, curator of African American collections and acquisitions at the Getty Research Institute.
Brooks interviewed Sirmans, director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, for the book. The conversation also prompted Brooks to reflect on his own path, from discovering African American art as a student to building archives that preserve creative legacies for future generations.
Brooks on what Black curators preserve and why it matters
Tense up—so you can relax more fully
In The Vexed Man by sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, an intense, emotive grimace is carved with incredible detail. Inspired by this strained expression, tense your body part by part and release in this progressive muscle relaxation exercise and meditation.
This sculpture makes clear that extreme expressions can be evocative and powerful. In this week’s bonus conversation, Māori cultural practitioner and choreographer Amelia Butler explains how traditional haka dance harnesses that power and leads to release.