Modeled after a first-century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, Italy, the Getty Villa is a museum, archeological facsimile and photographer's playground. It was based on (often unexcavated) remains buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Therefore, architects based many of the Museum's architectural and landscaping details on elements from other ancient Roman houses in the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae. The building itself was constructed in the early 1970s by architects who worked closely with J. Paul Getty to develop the interior and exterior details.
The entire Villa is a photographer's playground ... especially the glass and stone white eyes inset into ebony black bronze sculptures created by the Chiurazzi Foundry in Naples. The eyes seemed to follow you walking by. Again, the dark visage and stark white eyes translated well into B&W photography.
