Getty Research Institute Study Phototgraphs of Ancient Sculpture in the Round, 1900s

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Summary

Title:
Study photographs of ancient sculpture in the round
Dates:
1900s
Creators:
Getty Research Institute
Abstract:
A collection of modern photographs assembled by the Getty Research Institute of ancient sculpture in the round, concentrating on the Greek and Roman periods, Greek Archaic through the late Roman Empire (6th century BC-6th century AD).
Extent:
85.5 linear feet (408 boxes)
Language:
Collection material is in English

Background

Scope and content:

An assembled collection of modern photographs of ancient sculpture in the round, concentrating on the Greek and Roman periods, Greek Archaic through the late Roman Empire (6th century BC-6th century AD). Photographic coverage is most complete for Greek, Etruscan, and Roman sculpture. While documentation of ancient art from American museums and auction houses is particularly strong, the holdings of European museums are also broadly represented. Of particular importance is the extensive coverage of extant marble statues of Archaic Greek girls and youths (korai and kouroi, with circa 500 images of each); holdings of photographs of Etruscan bronze statuettes are strong as well. The collection contains photographs from numerous sources, including commercial vendors and photographers, research institutions' archives, museum and auction house files, and scholars' archives. Among the commercial vendors and photographers, the most important sources are Alinari (including the Anderson and Brogi archives), Bulloz, Photographie Giraudon, Max Hutzel, Hirmer Verlag, Gabinetto fotografico nazionale, Rome, Guntram Koch, Barbara Bini, John Ross, and Emile Serafis. Scholarly photographic archives dispersed into this collection include those of E. H. Richardson (Etruscan votive bronzes), Giovanni Becatti, and Ludwig Goldscheider, as well as a study collection acquired from the Department of Classics, University of California, Los Angeles. Research institutions' archives from which the collection holds copy prints include: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI), Rome; Archivio fotografico vaticano; and American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

Arrangement

Arranged by chronological era. The historic era is subdivided by subject into the categories of female figures, male figures, children, body parts, groups, animals and mythological creatures. The arrangement of female and male figures is then further refined into groupings of deities, mythological beings and unidentified people filed by pose.

Biographical / historical:

In 1974, the J. Paul Getty Museum began assembling a "photo library" by consolidating the visual resources of each existing curatorial department. By the early 1980s, the Photo Archive was actively acquiring large collections of photographs from commercial and private sources and scholars' archives that contained a photographic component. In 1983, the nearly one million photographs of the Photo Archive were incorporated into the Research Institute's Special Collections.

Processing information:

Finding aid created in 2009.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Ann Harrison
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-07-16T11:55-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers. For further information, consult the Guide to the Photo Archive and Database.

Terms of access:

Photographs and permission to publish must be obtained from copyright holder(s). For further information, contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website