James Baquet

    In 1974, the year after I graduated from high school, a unique museum opened near the sea in Los Angeles. Now called the Getty Villa, it is mostly a re-creation of a house that had been buried in Herculaneum, a seaside town near Pompeii. These towns had been buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79. The Getty Villa now houses one of the world’s greatest collections of classical art.

    I spent hours in this gallery, learning the fascinating story of the architecture around me.

    The original of the museum’s design, the “House of the Papyri,” had been lost on that fateful day late in 79 that also took the life of the naturalist Pliny the Elder. The life of the towns there was frozen in a moment, and was not rediscovered until 1599, when a few remains were uncovered and then covered up again. These first discoverers did not realize what they had found.

    Things were not fully brought to light until 1738, when men working for the King of Naples rediscovered Herculaneum. Ten years later, Pompeii was uncovered.

    Excavations continued through the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition to the buildings and artwork found, there were unusual spaces in the ash layer which were later known to be the shapes of the humans who had died there. These were filled with plaster to make casts of these unfortunate people.

    Several kinds of art were also frozen in time. Imagine encountering an ancient city exactly as it appeared nearly 2,000 years ago. The architecture included monumental arches, amphitheaters and the homes of the rich.

    There are frescoes, paintings made in the plaster of walls while it was still fresh. The walls and floors also hold many mosaics. These are images made with small tiles to form a brilliant picture. And of course, there is plenty of statuary and pottery.

    Much of the art is of an erotic nature. It seems that wealthy Romans were not too concerned about the sexual morals of today. Much of this was hidden away after the first discovery, and has just now begun to be exhibited in public.

    Vocabulary

    Which word above means:

    1. of a sexual nature

    2. a place to exhibit art

    3. a soft material applied to walls, which hardens to protect them; can also be used to make statues

    4. the material left after something burns, like the end of a cigarette

    5. next to the ocean

    6. reproduction, copy

    7. ideas of right and wrong

    8. half-round buildings for viewing performances