Going Home

This is a portion of a fresco owned by the J Paul Getty Museum which the museum is returning to Italy.

The AP describes it thus:

"The 35-by-31-inch fragment showing a landscape was donated to the museum in 1996. Spokeswoman Rebecca Taylor says the museum noticed last year that it matched another piece of a wall painting that a private collector was returning to Italy.

Taylor says experts decided the two fragments came from the same fresco and Getty officials decided to return their piece.

Taylor says the piece had been on display but wasn't a highlight of the collection.
The Getty has returned more than three dozen ancient artifacts that Italy claimed were looted from archaeological sites. But Taylor says the wall fragment is not believed to have been looted."

There are also 3 other works of art, including a stunning black-figure Grecian urn that will be returned.

We're seeing many works of art returned to their home countries these days as goodwill gestures.

It's interesting to see, and important for classic collections. But I also wonder about the practice because often, these antiquities in America are the first exposures of young people to tangible history.

I hope some stay in their current homes.