Part I: Descriptive survey of the museum and the collection. Describe the museum’s
design, architecture and collection. Although this section should be written as a narrative, some
questions you will want to consider are:
To access the world renowned Getty Center, one must utilize the tram system to ascend the
hillside. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains this museum is home to many exhibits and beautiful art.
The initial reaction upon arriving to the Getty Center is to be taken away by the breathtaking view, the
modern and pristine architecture, and the precious art, making it one of the highest quality of the entire
world. The museum radiates a welcoming and modern feel that immediately attracts those who arrive at
the compound. The museum has incredible variety to admire, from the painting galleries, sculpture and
decorative art galleries, gardens, and even the architecture of the building itself. After getting off of the
tram we explored the north pavilion, east pavilion, south pavilion, and then the west pavilion. The north
pavilion had the most to offer in regards to artifacts we could use and study for our analysis. Therefore,
most of our time was spent in the north pavilion. The museum space as whole radiated a modern feel
accompanied by lush gardens. Due to the Getty being constructed in primarily white, the gardens and
water features, stand out, illuminating their beauty. Additionally, the museum utilizes natural light in
many buildings, creating a more natural feel. There were five main buildings which were home to art and
sculptures throughout many different time periods. We counted around thirty six rooms in total. We
estimate at least two hundred paintings in the museum. In all these rooms, there was a whole range of
nationalities represented. Including, Spanish, French, English, Italian, Dutch, and many more. The
museum incorporates a vast amount of time as well. However, the primary focus of the Getty Center is in
the four main pavilions. The emphasis is Western European art from the early 1500’s, additionally there is
19th century art, as well as modern outdoor sculptures scattered around the facility. The Getty is home
to many pieces of art, which are then grouped into categories. A walk through the museum
shows how brilliant the staff are at the Ghetty, each individual room radiates a diverse feeling as
well as view. Some sections are distinctly different, however, some differentiated themselves
subtly, such as the dimming of lights. For example in the European Art in Italy and Northern
Europe 1450-1600 exhibit was extremely different than the Illuminated Manuscripts section. For
example, the lights were almost completely dimmed, with each individual manuscript
illuminated through a single light in it’s glass encasing. While the European Art room had
paintings on the wall mixed with sculptures, also the lights were in full affect. Much of the art in
the Getty is renaissance, there are paintings, sculptures, and manuscripts from the renaissance.
The Renaissance was an extremely important time in history. Throughout the time period many
cultural achievements were made; urbanism occurred, there was a rise of guilds, and a
humongous rise in market trade. Due to this the Getty presents a substantial portion of their art to
the Renaissance period. There is an extensive collection of Renaissance art present at the Getty.
There is also a collection of Baroque art at the Getty Center Museum. The space of the museum
provides a flow, traveling from room to room, we realized, the Getty was designed to flow,
making the experience more enjoyable. Also the feel to each exhibit provides a different
experience due to the differences in regards to lighting, layout, and the type of art.
Part II: Comparative Analysis Renaissance and Baroque (Your paper must reflect your
own analysis and NOT the description provided by the museum)
Compare a Renaissance painting or sculpture to a Baroque work on similar subject matter (religious,
classical myth, portrait, etc.) in terms of subject, style, composition, idea. In short, what aspects of the
artistic elements mark the individual works as being either Baroque or Renaissance. Be sure to link your
assessment to specific description about the artwork. As a guideline you can expect art between 1400
and 1500 to be Renaissance (although there will be exceptions so be clear on the elements of
Renaissance style). Baroque art will have a date of 1500-1600, and like the Renaissance, there may be
exceptions (think DECCO)
Beginning with the Renaissance, a religious piece that stood out was Andrea Mantegna’s
“Adoration of the Magi.” This is a painting that was created towards the end of the Renaissance around
1480 until about 1500. In the work of art, Mantegna depicted three Magi or kings, who traveled from
faraway places; we are able to identify that they are from the east and traveled to Bethlehem due to
their differences in physical appearance and clothing. Each of the three Kings brought a gift for the christ
child. Each person is seeming to hold a vase-like object and holding it in the direction of the infant. If you
follow the eyes of each of the subjects in the painting they all lead to the main subject, the baby Jesus.
Aspects of renaissance humanism are seen through this painting as well. An element of classical revival
can be seen through the elderly features that the males have in the painting, they accurately represent
wisdom through the anatomy of their faces, a very common technique seen in Greek and Roman art.
The Kings, even being in a position of power are still very human looking and are not idealized at all.
Aspects such as the awestruck facial expressions, mouths open, the accurate ways the hands were
painted to hold the offerings further exemplifies Mantegna’s use of realism. Mantegna also utilizes light
and shading in order to give the feeling of depth to the painting. The soft, bright light on Mary and Jesus
not only symbolizes purity and hope but allows the viewers eyes to be drawn to it center of the painting
easier and allows there to be a dark background. The composition of the painting is interesting as well,
the religious figures are all put on the left side of the piece and are on slightly higher ground than the
Magi, as if to bring them closer to heaven or to suggest their superior power.
Venturing into baroque art, “Christ on the Cross” by El Greco is a great piece to mention when
discussing the baroque. The piece embodies each aspect of DECCO (Drama, Emotion, Contrast,
Complexity, and Ornamentation), a very important element of the Baroque. Christ is depicted alone,
despite the circumstances of inevitable death he seems graceful and at peace. There is a very special
attention to detail in this painting, there are rolling hills, a small town, trees and a violent storm
brewing. El Greco does a good job of maintaining the realism of the human body but drastically
contorting Christ’s body to make him appear languid and weak. The use of light during the Baroque is
not revolutionary by any means, but it was definitely mastered during this period. The light coming from
the right side of the painting creates perfect shadows, contrast and is exquisitely accomplished by the
artists ability to manipulate light on the canvas based on how it would react to real surfaces and
materials. There is a cross diagonal composition, and it enhances the frailness of the subject’s body.
Personally my eyes are immediately drawn to the center of Christ’s body where I see his core that is
overly skinny, protruding with bones and weak muscles but is skillfully shaded in order to capture his
fragile state.
Generally, the art of the baroque and the renaissance have some similarities and some
differences. One of the differences is with the colors, some of these can be seen with the two paintings,
“Christ on the Cross” by El Greco and “Adoration of the Magi” by Andrea Mantegna. The color scheme in
Adoration of the Magi, the renaissance piece, is more neutral whereas the bold and heavily painted
colors in “Christ on the Cross”, the baroque work, are prevalent. Oddly enough, Mantegna uses brighter
colors such as orange, yellow, red and pink, but for some reason those colors are not as bold as the
darker colors used in El Greco’s painting. This is most likely due to each artist’s choices of medium,
Mantegna used distemper on linen which could is a probable cause for the lighter appearance. El Greco
who used oil paint on a canvas which not only allowed for more bold results, but allowed him to utilize
his mastery of light and contrast. In the renaissance they did use contrast and lighting but in comparison
to the baroque, it is obvious who mastered the use of light. The shadows on Jesus’ body are more
prominent, and accurate in comparison to the shadows use in “Adoration of the Magi.” A similarity is
the level of emotion displayed in the paintings, both pieces lack emotional intensity but the viewer can
sense the emotion that is being projected. Even though the expressions of the Magi are not intense the
viewer can sense the awe that they are feeling due to the fact that all the physical and psychological
attention is directed towards the holy infant. This is similar to the emotion that is illustrated in “Christ
on the Cross” painting, Christ is moments away from death but his facial expression suggests that he is
relaxed, and his gaze towards the sky suggests that he is ready to go to heaven. This is one of the most
emotional events of Christianity, the pain and suffering is expressed through the dark and turbulent
backgrounds but not explicitly through Christ’s face. The backgrounds are different as well, the work by
Mantegna has a bare, plain black background, whereas El Greco’s work has a very detailed background
especially in regards to light, contrast and symbolism. Lastly, the compositions are different, the piece
from the Renaissance has a triangular configuration, and El Greco’s has a cross diagonal configuration,
both represent their respective time period.
-Christ on Cross
The body of christ in this painting has a compelling other-worldly beauty. It wavers and lengthens kind
of like a flame. The image was painted by El Greco between 1600-1610. In most images of the crucifixion
