This month’s #ConnectingCollections theme is casts, so we’re highlighting the bronze reproductions of ancient statuary in the Getty Villa’s gardens.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ These were produced by the Fonderia Chiurazzi, a foundry in Naples. Its replicas of statues from sites such as Pompeii and Herculaneum allowed collectors, museums, educational institutions, and even hotel owners access to artworks that they could never own.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ In designing the Getty Villa in the 1970s, the building’s architects not only drew upon the layout of the ancient Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum, but also commissioned the Fonderia to produce replicas of almost fifty statues that had been found in that luxurious Roman home. Here’s Hermes, the messenger god, watching over the reflecting pool in the Getty Villa’s Outer Peristyle.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Bronze replicas of Greek and Roman statues by the Fonderia Chiurazzi and other firms can be found in many museum collections today. Amongst our #ConnectingCollections colleagues, we’ve seen a Herm...