Los Angeles - J Paul Getty Museum

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stylized form of which has a compelling effect. There are a large number of Greek and Roman sculptures, the latter partly in terracotta but mainly in marble, such as the seated man playing the lyre, surrounded by two sirens.

One of the outstanding pieces in the Getty Collection is the marble figure of Hercules, standing almost 6.5ft/2m tall, and dating from the second century AD. This larger than life figure of the hero is holding in its left hand the club with which - according to legend - Hercules slew the Nemean lion, and in its right the lion's hide. If you compare this Hercules with the sculpture of the "Victorious Athlete" dating from the early period of the Olympic Games (4th or 3rd c. BC.), you will see that the athlete's left arm is hanging down, while his right points to his laurel wreath.

Only a few bronzes of this kind are still preserved. There are also several portrait statues and statuettes from the Roman period. Some well- preserved Greek terracotta vessels, some still gloriously colorful (vases, amphora and so-called craters), are to be found in one gallery.

There are scarcely any paintings remaining from ancient times, because the material on which they were painted wasted away over thousands of years. In the dry air of the Egyptian desert, however, portraits of mummies painted on wood have been preserved, as they were placed in the linen wrappings of the mummy. One example is the true to nature portrait of a woman (Romo-Egyptian). Other less impressive paintings can be seen on the shrines and sarcophagi. A further gallery houses antique silver and gold work.

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Louis XIV, above the door of which is a bronze medallion of the monarch surrounded by military trophies. Of the porcelain items, special mention should be made of a basket from the Sèvres porcelain factory.

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already amassed a considerable collection, as witness the German, French, Italian and British exhibits on the upper floor. Almost all the manuscripts emanate from the purchase of the Louis Collection from Aachen.

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Man in Armour"), Jan Steen, Jacob Ruysdael, one of the forty remaining paintings by Georges de la Tour, a Goya, a Gainsborough, two paintings from the Rogier van der Weyden school (including a "Descent from the Cross"), two Corots and works by the French impressionists Pissarro, Monet and Degas; there are also works by the post-impressionists Gauguin and the forerunner of the Art Nouveau style, Toulouse-Lautrec.

There are scarcely any paintings remaining from ancient times, because the material on which they were painted wasted away over thousands of years. In the dry air of the Egyptian desert, however, portraits of mummies painted on wood have been preserved, as they were placed in the linen wrappings of the mummy. One example is the true to nature portrait of a woman (Romo-Egyptian). Other less impressive paintings can be seen on the shrines and sarcophagi. A further gallery houses antique silver and gold work.

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photographers, date back to 1841. In addition to others from the 19th c., there are also numerous examples of work by photographers from the present day such as Man Ray, Imogene Cunningham, Walker Evans and the German August Sander.

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Rodan and Cellini.

One of the highlights of the collection is Pier Jacopo Antico's Bust of Marcus Aurelius. Visitors will not want to miss Cellini's Satyr from around 1542.

One of the oldest pieces is a 16in/40cm tall female figure from Cyprus which is almost 4,500 years old, the stylized form of which has a compelling effect. There are a large number of Greek and Roman sculptures, the latter partly in terracotta but mainly in marble, such as the seated man playing the lyre, surrounded by two sirens.

One of the outstanding pieces in the Getty Collection is the marble figure of Hercules, standing almost 6.5ft/2m tall, and dating from the second century AD. This larger than life figure of the hero is holding in its left hand the club with which - according to legend - Hercules slew the Nemean lion, and in its right the lion's hide. If you compare this Hercules with the sculpture of the "Victorious Athlete" dating from the early period of the Olympic Games (fourth or third century BC.), you will see that the athlete's left arm is hanging down, while his right points to his laurel wreath.

Only a few bronzes of this kind are still preserved. There are also several portrait statues and statuettes from the Roman period. Some well- preserved Greek terracotta vessels, some still gloriously colorful (vases, amphora and so-called craters), are to be found in one gallery.