Museum Home Research and Conservation Myth, Allegory, Emblem: The Many Lives of the Chimaera of Arezzo

Dates: Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, 2009
Time: 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday with reception to follow.
Location: Getty Villa, Auditorium


This scholarly colloquium brings together an international group of art historians, archaeologists, and conservators to discuss the latest research on an extraordinary bronze sculpture, the Chimaera of Arezzo, on view at the Getty Villa through February 8, 2010.

Topics to be explored include the iconography of Bellerophon and the Chimaera in Greece, south Italy, and Etruria; the archaeological context of the Chimaera and its role in Etruscan religion; technology and conservation history; and the sculpture's reception in Renaissance Florence.

Confirmed speakers include:

• G. Carlotta Cianferoni, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence
• Francesco de Angelis, Columbia University, New York City
• Andrea M. Gáldy, Florence University of the Arts, Florence
• Nancy T. de Grummond, Florida State University, Tallahassee
• Alessandra Giumlia–Mair, AGM Archeoanalisi, Meran, Italy
• Martin Henig, Wolfson College and St. Stephen's House, Oxford
• Mario Iozzo, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence
• Fulvia Lo Schiavo, Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana, Florence
• Alain Schnapp, University of Paris I—Panthéon–Sorbonne, Paris, and Getty Research Institute
• Salvatore Siano, Istituto di Fisica Applicata Nello Carrara, Florence
• P. Gregory Warden, Southern Methodist University, Dallas

Schedule (40 KB)

Narrative, Myth, and Society in Early Etruscan Culture (public lecture)
Giovannangelo Camporeale

Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Getty Villa, Auditorium
Admission: Free.

Giovannangelo Camporeale, professor emeritus of Etruscology at the University of Florence, explores the spread of Greek myths—such as that of Bellerophon and Chimaera—and their representation in the art of central Italy between 600 and 400 B.C.

In early Etruscan art of the ninth century B.C., figural scenes were seldom represented. Motifs consisted primarily of elementary, geometric patterns, although scenes depicting animals, hunts, dances, and funerary rituals do appear. After the seventh century B.C., narrative scenes derived from Greek and Near Eastern mythological imagery became more numerous. Like their predecessors they were employed to decorate prestigious artifacts in diverse media and promoted aristocratic values.

Camporeale's presentation is the annual Ferdinando and Sarah Cinelli Lecture in Etruscan and Italic Archaeology, presented in cooperation with the Archaeological Institute of America and the Etruscan Foundation.

How to Get Here
The Getty Villa is located at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, California, approximately 25 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. See Hours, Directions, Parking for directions and parking information.

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