Another one of the spots I visited on my recent road trip was the Getty Villa in Malibu, California. It's a replica of an estate in ancient Pompeii that sits on a bluff overlooking the pacific and houses a wonderful collection of ancient art, mostly from the Greeks and Romans. I took the opportunity it provided to work on my portrait skills.
I don't believe there was a name on the first statue seen above, but the woman is Athena, which is set up in an alcove near the entrance of the estate and visitors are encouraged to touch it to get a sense of the different textures employed by the sculptor in shaping the work. Kind of rare for a museum, especially given the statue's age.
It's unfortunate that this statue has not weathered the years so well, since it's quite striking. It's one of a group celebrating the ancient muses of Greek culture.
I can't remember now if this was a statue of Zeus or Hercules, but I'm reasonably sure it was the former. There are so many statues on display, including multiple versions of the most famous figures, that it was difficult to keep them straight (plus I was more interested in seeing if I could take an interesting picture of them than memorizing their identities).
I believe this last sculpture was also unnamed, and was out in the garden (I'll post some pictures of the grounds in another day or so). He looks frightened, which seems an odd expression in comparison to the other works I saw there.
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