The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection

On view September 12, 2012–January 7, 2013 at the Getty Villa (Los Ángeles, USA), The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection presents Pompeii and the other Vesuvian sites as a modern fascination rather than focusing on their historical past. Organized around three themes—decadence, apocalypse, and resurrection—this exhibition addresses the potent and continuing legacy of Pompeii in the modern imagination.  

Pompeii and the other cities destroyed and paradoxically preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 are usually considered the places where we can best and most directly experience the daily lives of ancient Romans. Rather than presenting these sites as windows on the past, this exhibition explores them as a modern obsession. Over the three hundred years since their discovery in the early 1700s, the Vesuvian sites have functioned as shifting mirrors of the present, inspiring foremost artists—from Piranesi, Fragonard, Ingres, and Alma-Tadema to Duchamp, Dalí, Rothko, and Warhol—to engage with contemporary concerns in diverse media.

Dates: through January 7.
Location: Villa Getty. 17985 Pacific Coast Highway. Pacific Palisades, California 90272. Los Angeles. USA.
Opening hours: from Wednesday to Monday from 10am to 5pm.