A beautiful Thursday at the Getty Center

This exhibition demonstrates how Messerschmidt's intriguing heads are linked to the 18th and 19th centuries fascination with expression and "passions". Messerschmidt created the Character Heads between 1770 and his death in 1883.  The head depicted in this poster is called "The Vexed Man".  The names were assigned after the artist's death.  It is carved in alabaster.  The sculpter was active in Austria.  He suffered from mental illness and expressed feeliings through his 69 portrait busts. 

A view though the Oak Trees to the hill above the Getty Center.

This a detail of the painting"Spring" painted in 1894 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch active in England.  He lived from 1836-1912.  Although set in Roman times, the painting alludes to the Victorian custom of sending children into the country to gather flowers on May 1.  This painting creates a beautiful Hollywood like celebration of Spring but denies the reality of May 1st as a day, even in the late 19th century, when violent workers' demonstrated on May Day against the injustices of the work environment.. 

"Sunrise" by Claude Monet, French 1873.
This is a good example of the popular Impressionism style.

"Houses at Bougival (Autumn), 1870 painted by Camille Pissarro, French, 1830-1903.
The description states that in this unpretentious suburban scene, Pissarro evoked autumn through a palette of cool grays, muted greens, and mellow browns.

The full view of "Spring"

"Hermitage Garden, Maison Rouge, 1877 by Camille Pissarro.  The densely packed style used by Pissarro with a great amount of detail requires intense concentration and study which Pissarro believed his paintings deserved.

"Modern Rome-Campo Vaccino, 1839, by Joseph Mallord William Turner, English 1775-1851
This new acquisition by the Getty shows Turner's beautiful sky and the modern life in the Roman Ruins.  The life includes people living among the ruins with the live stock grazing at the bases of ancient columns.

"Autumn (Dejanira)" 1872-73 by Gustave Moreau, French, 1826-1892.
The description states "Shown here is the centaur Nessus abducting Dejanira, the wife of Hercules.  On the distant cliffs, Hercules aims the arrow that will kill Nessus."

"Ray K. Metzker (born 1931) is known for finely crafted black and white prints that probe photography's expressive potential through multiple and composite images, high contrast, and selective focus."  The exhibit is divided according to his works in Chicago in 1956-59 when he was a graduate student at the Institute of Design in Chicago, Europe, 1960-61, Early Philadelphia, 1962-64, and Composites, 1964-84 as seen in the above poster.  His other works are set in Atlantic City, New Mexico, and back in Philadelphia 1996-2009.