Access Over 300 Painting and Architecture Books Published by Getty

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles offers an online catalog of books about architecture, photography, and painting

You know that feeling when you finally find the book you’ve been searching for? Suddenly, you're holding onto pages of reference material, infinite sources of inspiration, and new ideas that are waiting to be discovered.

Well, now, thanks to the Getty Publications Virtual Library, you will be able to experience this feeling over and over again. The site allows you to download books for free, and even print them out. You’ll gain access to over 300 titles about art, photography, archaeology, architecture, conservation, and humanities.

Getty Publications Virtual Library

In 2014, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles (USA) launched its Virtual Library, which would offer more than 250 titles published by Getty Publications.

Since then, anyone with an internet connection, no matter where they are in the world, has been able to access the museum’s catalog for free. The collection never stops growing, and already it comprises over 300 books that people can consult online or download as a high-res PDF.

Getty Publications is known for publishing titles related to the fields of art, photography, archaeology, architecture, conservation, and humanities for both the general public and experts. It also has a collection of books that are for sale, which gets renewed each season.

Getty has always championed the idea that such resources should be freely available to all "to promote a vital civil society through an understanding of the visual arts."

What books will I find in their catalog?

Publications include illustrated works on artists and art history, museum exhibition catalogs, works on cultural history, research on the conservation of archaeological materials and sites, monographs, critical editions of translated works, and comprehensive studies of the Getty collections.

The virtual library is extensive, full of surprises, and has been 100% digitized, with great care having been taken to preserve the quality of the original publications. Before you start browsing the collection yourself, we run through a few of the different categories you can explore.

Painting

This section is perfect if you want to delve into the life of a painter. Simply type their name into the search filter and check out the available results. One of Getty Publication’s most popular books analyzes the work of the painter Cézanne, in particular, his series of watercolor still lifes.

The catalog also features collections on particular periods of art history or monographs on single works of art, such as La Blanchisseuse by French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1761). This painting, of which there are two versions, was virtually unknown to 20th-century audiences. The Getty Museum acquired the piece and published a book to shed light on its historical relevance.

Architecture

This section offers essays analyzing the works of great architects, publications summing up the conclusions of key conferences, guides for students... One glance at this catalog confirms that all of these books will be incredibly valuable for historians, critics, and architecture professionals.

It offers specialist books on everything from Islamic geometric patterns (on which there is little information) to sustainability in architecture over recent decades.

Photography

The J. Paul Getty Museum's collection contains over one hundred thousand images, making it one of the most extensive and important collections in the world. In this library, you will discover books that compile works by photographers spanning different times, such as pioneer Julia Margaret Cameron.

The Getty Museum's Department of Photographs has taken care to describe each of the images in detail. You will be able to explore the different styles and concepts associated with this popular discipline.

How can I browse the collection?

The search engine allows you to browse the Getty archive by title, author, and keyword. For each book, you’ll find tabs for a description; table of contents; and links to read the publication online, buy the book in print, find it in a library, or download the full PDF for free personal use.

The Getty Center

The Getty Center is found at 1200 Getty Center Drive in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood. It is a cultural and philanthropic institution dedicated to the presentation, conservation, and interpretation of the world's art legacies.

In a space that is laid out similarly to a campus, you will find the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Foundation, a research institute, a conservation Institute, auditorium facilities, and several gardens.

The center's name pays tribute to American businessman Jean Paul Getty (1892-1976), a tycoon who was named by Fortune magazine as "the richest living American" in 1957. A well-known art collector, he created the philanthropic institution, the J. Paul Getty Trust (1953). He donated valuable pieces of art to this institution and even a Roman-style villa, located in the thriving residential neighborhood of Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, popularly known as the Getty Villa, opened in 1974 and was dedicated to the arts of Ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. In 1997, the Getty Center was opened as a place to house and display other collections.

Books, an infinite source of inspiration

Initiatives such as the Getty Publications Virtual Library demonstrate that books have always been and will always be a great learning tool and inspire creativity. As the renowned writer and artist Julia Cameron states in her book, The Artist's Way, "not believing that you can be creative is the first big mistake in not achieving it".

You are sure to find endless resources in this catalog that will guide you on your creative journey. If you are still hungry for more, you can explore our list of 120 books to spark your creativity, recommended by Domestika experts.

Enjoy looking at books about different artistic disciplines? What is your favorite subject? Discover Getty's virtual library and start expanding your collection of reference material at the click of a button.

If you want to learn more about architecture, photography, or painting, check out Domestika's online courses. Top experts from the global creative scene share their techniques and tips so you can perfect your skills.

English version by @eloiseedgington.

You may also like:

- Meet the 10 Female Photographers of World Press Photo 2021
- Watercolour World: Access 100,000 Pre-1900 Watercolor Paintings
- How Should I Look at Art When I Go To A Museum?