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Male Narrator J. Paul Getty had a passion for antique statuary, especially portrait busts. So, it is fitting that this luminous, white-marble bust of the somber-looking Getty keeps watch over the entrance to the Museum built by his bequest.
Despite the twentieth-century business attire, the portrayal of Getty with a direct, forward-facing gaze follows the classical tradition of representing only the head and shoulders of the sitter. The sculptor Pier Gabriele Vangelli created it in the summer of 1939, during Getty’s stay in Rome.
Getty was not altogether satisfied with the original likeness, however. Among other flaws, he thought his mouth seemed too severe. The exacting Getty offered Vangelli his thoughts as the artist completed the clay model. Then, following a traditional process, Vangelli delivered the final plaster cast to a marble carver to create the stone version. Getty continued to monitor the work and suggest corrections.
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Nevertheless, Getty must have been pleased with Vangelli’s work because he arranged for his future wife, Teddy, to sit for the sculptor later that summer. Eventually, Getty asked that his bust be placed in the entrance vestibule of the museum.
