Sister Grace - Exploring 18/19th c. Getty Museum

Welcome to the Getty Museum, a place with the latest technology, the latest art, a place for families, or perhaps a stroll in the garden. Come with me, Grace Yi, as we explore the Getty Museum and discover its many secrets. This is our first painting. This depicts a scene from Homer's Odyssey. Penelope has waited many years for the return of her husband, Odysseus, from the Trojan War. She is the only one that believes that her husband is still alive. She has already been approached by many suitors who all claim that her husband is dead. They demand that she must choose one of them to marry. Penelope promises to marry one of the suitors when she completes a tapestry that she is making for her father-in-law. This painting depicts Penelope unraveling the thread by night, symbolizing her loyalty to her husband. The small source of light in the painting symbolizes her small yet undying faith that her husband is still alive. The dark statue that stands in the foreground symbolizes Odysseus and his presence. Joseph Wright of Derby was the first English painter to be famous outside of the capital. Born in 1734, this attorney's son especially favored scenes that were dark but illuminated by small sources of light such as the candles, perhaps the moon. He also loved to paint scenes of the movement, the Industrial Revolution. He also liked to include literary themes. Epitome of all these themes are shown in his painting Penelope undoing the thread for her husband to come home. However, while Joseph Wright and England were enjoying a period of prosperity, across the ocean, France is undergoing a violent and reckless revolution. One of the best paintings that portray the chaos and hysteria of the French Revolution is the demolition of the Chateau Moudon painted here by Hubert Robert. The Chateau Moudon was one of France's great lost monuments. After being ransacked during the French Revolution and enduring a fire in 1795, the Chateau was demolished completely in the year 1803. In this painting, Robert depicts all the architectural destruction into one scene integrating various scenes of despoilment into a single powerful image. At the right hand corner, there is an artist, most likely Robert himself, holding a piece of paper and a piece of chalk surveying the ruins. One of the many painters in France during this time was Hubert Robert. He spent many years in France refining his art career and right after he spent 11 years in Italy where he developed his fascination for ruins. In fact, he became very famous for his paintings on contemporary He also liked to paint scenes of his native France which was at that time a revolutionary France.