Exhibition Closing

Lumen: The Art and Science of Light

Until December 8, 2024

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Astronomers on Mount Athos (detail), in The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, about 1400–1425, Master of the Mandeville Travels. Tinted ink on parchment. The British Library Collection, Add. 24189, fol. 15. Image © The British Library Board

Featured Exhibition in the PST ART: Art & Science Collide series.

To be human is to crave light. We rise and sleep according to the rhythms of the sun, and have long associated light with divinity. Focusing on the arts of western Europe, Lumen explores the ways in which the science of light was studied by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim philosophers, theologians, and artists during the “long Middle Ages” (800-1600 CE). During this period science (or the study of the physical universe) served as the connective thread for diverse cultures across Europe and the Mediterranean, uniting scholars who inherited, translated, and improved upon a common foundation of ancient Greek scholarship. Several contemporary artworks, including special installations by Helen Pashgian and Charles Ross will extend the exhibition’s reach throughout the Museum.

Supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

This exhibition is presented in English and Spanish. Esta exhibición se presenta en inglés y en español.

All exhibitions are included in your free, timed-entry reservation to Getty. Reservations are available six weeks in advance. Please note, there is a fee for parking.

For more information, please visit the link here.