The Getty Center is one of the largest museums and art centers in the world

Los Angeles/Prague - One of the richest and most modern museums in the world is the Los Angeles Getty Center, which opened on December 16, 1997. The magnificent complex was designed by the renowned architect Richard Meier, a Pritzker Prize laureate, and its construction, which began in 1984, cost an astronomical $1.3 billion. Meier utilized natural stone, white plaster, large glass surfaces, and steel beams in the modernist design of the building.

The new complex, which spans 48 acres and consists of six buildings converging to form a large ypsilon shape, houses collections of modern and contemporary art, including beloved Impressionists, from the collection established by oil magnate Paul Getty. The gallery is entirely composed of private collections. It features several rare Rembrandts and Cézannes, as well as works by Michelangelo, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and others.

The patron, who was considered one of the richest people in the world at the time of his death in 1976, also bequeathed the majority of his wealth in stock to the museum (amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars), which has allowed it to thrive splendidly to this day.