G7 of Culture, the Chimera of Arezzo in Palazzo Vecchio

FLORENCE, ITALY – In conjunction with the Culture G7, the Chimera of Arezzo will be exceptionally exhibited in the Room of Leo X in Palazzo Vecchio (from March 28 to April 27, 2017), where it was located after its finding, in the very same spot where Cosimo I de’ Medici decided to locate it after its finding, around the middle of the 15th century.

Together with this bronze sculpture dating back to the 4-5th century b.C. and usually housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence, the Room also hosts a letter sent by Baccio Bandinelli in the middle of the 16th century and kept in the National Central Library of Florence.

The letter contains an ink-sketch of the Chimera’s silhouette; the sculpture is pictured tailless, as it was at the moment of discovery. The third item on display is a bronze bust of Cosimo I, sculpted by Bandinelli and lent by the Uffizi Gallery.

The Chimera perfectly represents the strong interest in the Etruscan culture encouraged by Cosimo I de’ Medici, through archaeological digs and campaigns, as well as studies and literature.

Even Giorgio Vasari drew from Tuscan history, outlining the supremacy of the Etruscan art over classical arts, namely thanks to the Chimera, discovered in Arezzo on November, 15th 1553 “ten arms down the ground” during the construction works of a bastion near San Lorentino’s Gate.

The discovery was absolutely unexpected and surprising, and strongly hel- ped rediscover ancient Tuscan greatness, depicting Cosimo as the new Etruscan prince. Benvenuto Cellini notes: “A few days ago, in the county of Arezzo, some antiques were found, including the Chimera, the bronze lion depicted in the room next to the great room of the Palace. Together with the Chimera, a number of little bronze statues were found as well; they were covered in soil and rust, and each of them was missing either the head, hands or feet. The Duke liked to restore them himself with a small goldwork chisel.”

Brought in Florence together with the other findings, the striking Etruscan sculpture was then located in the beatiful setting – approx. in 1558 – in the beautiful setting of Room of Leo X, to represent the negative forces defeated by Cosimo in order to create a new, perfect Etruscan Reign.

As Vasari stressed: “Fate wanted the sculpture to be found over the reign of Duke Cosimo, who is today a tamer of all Chimeras”. According to the sources, Benvenuto Cellini was in charge of restoring the statue, recreating the missing tail.

However, this addition was only completed in 1784 by the sculptor Francesco Carradori under the guidance of Luigi Lanzi, when the Chimera had already been relocated in the Uffizi since 1718, after amazing visitors and guests from across the world in the Palazzo di Piazza for almost two centuries. Since the 19th century, the bronze sculpture is housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence.

This monstrous beast was first mentioned in the Iliad, where Homer descri- bes it as an hybrid of three different creatures: a lion, a goat and a snake. The be- ast’s head was fire-breathing; the Chimera was killed by the noble Bellerophon, son of Glaucus, as the Gods predicted.

Many other legends flourished around the creature, a fantastic fusion of real-life animals that soon became the symbol of something impossible and unreal, representing a fake idea or vane imagina- tion, as Borges explains in his Book of Imaginary Beings. This is the reason why the Chimera, even today, embodies a charm – or a warning – still full of meaning.