Free Public Lecture on the Origins of Hellenistic Ruler Portraiture – Getty Villa

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International Scholar Peter Schultz Explores Evidence, Appearance, and Meaning of Enigmatic Group of Portraits.

The use of heroic or divine imagery for the portraits of kings, queens, and rulers is one of the most well-known aspects of the visual culture
of the Hellenistic period (323-31 B.C.). In paintings, statues and coins, Hellenistic monarchs consistently elevated themselves above those
they ruled with a common visual language that pointed directly to their own god like power. But where does this tradition come from?

In 338 B.C., Philip II of Macedon destroyed the armies of Athens and Thebes and changed the Greek world forever. To commemorate this
spectacular triumph, the king commissioned from the renowned Athenian sculptor Leochares a set of dynastic portraits of himself, his son
Alexander (later to become “the Great”), his wife Olympia, his mother Eurydice, and his father Amyntas. In many ways, this portrait group,
erected in a circular, temple-like building in the panhellenic sanctuary at Olympia in Greece””the Philippeion“”set the stage for the use of
heroic and divine iconographies for the next three hundred years, until the end of the Hellenistic Age.

In this exciting Getty Villa lecture, Peter Schultz of Concordia College explores the evidence, appearance, and meaning of an enigmatic
of group portraits and discusses the influence the Philippeion and its statuary had on later Hellenistic culture and art.

About Peter Schultz
Peter Schultz is Olin J. Storvick Chair of Classical Studies at Concordia College. He received a bachelor’s degree in art history, philosophy, and classics from Concordia in 1994, a master’s degree in art history from Vanderbilt University in 1997, and a Ph.D. in Classical archaeology from the University of Athens in 2003. Dr. Schultz has held advanced fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the A.G. Leventis Foundation, the Fritz-Thyssen Stiftung für Wissenschaftsförderung and the American School of Classical Studies, Athens, among others. His research interests include Greek sculpture and architecture, archaeological theory, Macedonian history before Alexander, and modern Greek poetry and landscape. He has written extensively on Athenian art, architecture, and topography and is currently completing monographs on the sculptural program of the temple of Athena Nike in Athens and on the social history of Greek art, both for Cambridge University Press.

What: Lecture on the Origins of Hellenistic Ruler Portraiture (Free, public lecture)

When: Thursday, December 2, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Getty Villa, Auditorium
J. Paul Getty Museum
Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Highway

Admission: Free; Tickets required
Tickets can be obtained online or phone at (310) 440-7300.

The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that features the J. Paul Getty
Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Foundation. The J. Paul Getty Trust and Getty programs
serve a varied audience from two locations:  the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu.

Visiting the Getty Villa
The Getty Villa is open Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Tuesday, and major holidays. Admission to the
Getty Villa is always free.  A ticket is required for admission. Tickets can be ordered in advance, or on the day of your visit, at www.getty.edu/visit or at (310) 440-7300.   Parking is $15 per car, but free after 5pm for evening events. Groups of 15 or more must make reservations by phone.  For more information, call 310-440-7300 (English
or Spanish); 310-440-7305 (TTY line for the deaf or hearing impaired).

The Getty Villa is at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, California.

Additional information is available at www.getty.edu.

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Report by Pauline Adamek