This is where the roots of the sprawling Getty Center trace back to, a piece of the Pacific Coast set 2000 years into the past at the height of elaborate Roman art and explicit physical manifestations of human emotion. The walls of the J. Paul Getty Museum speak of the continuous cash which poured forth from the pockets of its founder, the wealthy oil merchant J. Paul Getty whose heart throbbed for the romantic sensibilities of old art. His initial hoard of Renaissance and Baroque, French furniture and hand scripted bound parchment soon burst past the doors of his residence in Malibu, needing to be relocated for appreciation by the wider public.

Ornate Roman pillars and bas-reliefs popping out of the marbled roofs recreate the temples of old within this replica of a Roman villa that was set in the doomed city of Pompeii. Outdoor statuaries act as solemn faced muses leading you to the chambers of the deities within. Here, the works of art bearing the marks of age from the Greek, Roman and Etruscan era are sacred, set on gilded pedestals to be marveled at. Masterpieces by the greatest luminaries of art such as Michelangelo and Parmigianino have been gathered from the four corners of the globe. Works such as Michelangelo’s “Holy Family with the Infant Baptist” are brought to light by the museum after having shied from the public eye for 157 years. An awe inspiring tribute to the glories of the past, these works of art are immortal beings within the velvet red walls of the museum.