The Chimaera of Arezzo: Made in Etruria?

Abstract

The J. Paul Getty Museum’s recent exhibition, The Chimaera of Arezzo, was reviewed in this journal by Beth Cohen,1 who provided an excellent account of what was a beautifully realized and extremely informative exhibition that contextualized the Chimaera iconographically in a broader Mediterranean milieu and historiographically in the context of early modern Italy. Seen in the new context at the Getty Museum and now prominently placed as a piece de resistance in its own light, the Chimaera’s display raises important questions about the way we privilege a “masterpiece” yet are still unable to be certain about the artistic and cultural milieu that produced it. One very real context, as I proposed at the symposium that accompanied this exhibition, is that the statue was a religious dedication at Arezzo that was ritually treated as a physical sacrifice. In this sense, the Chimaera has a very tangible Etruscan cultural identity. Its artistic identity, however, seems more problematic. Cohen’s review of the exhibition itself is exemplary, and she raises challenging questions about two famous works not on display, the Capitoline wolf and the Amazon sarcophagus, as well as difficult issues that go beyond the scope of the exhibition yet are of clear scholarly importance. These issues are well worth further examination and discussion. Cohen’s premise is as follows: “The thrilling opportunity to see the bronze Chimaera statue afresh in Malibu invites a brief reconsideration of the location of its fabric in light of notable findings from recent analyses of two other ‘Etruscan’ monuments.”2 The word Etruscan is here placed in quotation marks, and with it we enter the difficult and much-treaded territory of what is considered Etruscan and what is considered Greek. Cohen goes on to discuss two monuments that have traditionally been thought to be Etruscan: the Capitoline wolf and the Amazon sarcophagus. The argument is that if these two monuments are not Etruscan, then we must also question the Etruscan attribution of the Chimaera because these three works of art (one of which, the sarcophagus, is entirely different in medium and function) are all master works. Apart from the logic of the argument, there is also the issue that the wolf and the Amazon sarcophagus have in fact not been disproven to be Etruscan. It is a little too early to put that word in quotation marks. Admittedly, there are serious questions about the Capitoline wolf, or Lupa. As Cohen points out, “Carruba (controversially) suggested that it is a medieval work of ca. 700 C.E. cast in one piece like a church bell rather than in parts, according to ancient practice.”3 Carruba certainly raised important and controversial questions, even if the stylistic comparisons that have been presented seem less than compelling. But the problem is that Carruba did not present the full scientific evidence. We were told, mostly in press releases, that compelling scientific data exist proving the Lupa to be post Antique. That the wolf cannot be Etruscan because it is cast in a single piece is telling but not conclusive.