Well, it has been several weeks since the 4th of July (in fact, it has been exactly a month, but hey), and I'm still a little in awe of the Getty Villa Museum.
Most museums are either fairly drab backdrops to their exhibits or, IMO, eyesores that detract from them due to trying to hard to be 'artistic' themselves. The Getty Villa is neither. For those who don't know, the Villa is almost a recreation of a Roman villa house and surroundings. If the modern display cases were removed and the rather less than artfully concealed modern security and safety equipment hidden it could do an excellent job as a living history structure all by itself - the building is a work of art, one of both high quality and, as far as I can tell, high fidelity to the styles and traditions of Roman art. The collection is rather modest in quantity, but impressive in quality. I found the coin exhibit and discussion particularly noteworthy, though the almost complete lack of arms and armor bothered my slightly given the militancy of Roman culture.
While perhaps only of limited interest to those who aren't into Etruscan/Greco-Roman art and history (the collection is quite narowly focused), it is a treat for those who are, with a cafeteria that is tailored to the subject as well as some excellent and creative exhibits.
One other slightly low note was the giftshop, which was small in both size and in variety - oddly, considering the lavish space available.
All in all, however, the museum is a gem that is more than worthy of the artifacts it presents.
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