Cimabue on tour

by Federico Giannini (Instagram: @federicogiannini1), published on 24/06/2012
Categories: News Focus / Disclaimer

The church of San Domenico is located in one of the most beautiful corners of Arezzo: coming down from the cathedral on Via Ricasoli, we turn right and after a few dozen meters we see a tree-lined, little-visited square open up, at the end of which we notice theaustere facade of the building, flanked by the characteristic bell gable typical of these areas. A facade devoid of decoration, but one that is admired despite its severity. Such a bare church on the outside, however, contains inside one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian art: the Crucifix known as, precisely, San Domenico, the work of Cimabue.

It is, as we mentioned in the episode of our podcast devoted precisely to Cimabue, a work that dates from around 1270 (although scholars disagree on the dates) and, above all, it is the earliest known work by Cimabue, a painter whose body of work is very small. But the uniqueness of this work goes even further: it is, in fact, the only extant painted cross by Cimabue that has been preserved in its entirety1 (the other, the Crucifix of Santa Croce, was half-destroyed during the 1966 flood in Florence) and according to some scholars it is also the only work by Cimabue that we know of that was made before his departure for Assisi2.

This week, through the press office of the City of Arezzo, an official communiqué, dated June 213, was released, within which we read about the meeting between the mayor of Arezzo Giuseppe Fanfani, the councillor for culture Pasquale Macrì and the cultural attaché of the Italian embassy in Washington, Renato Miracco: a meeting to discuss the possibility of sending Cimabue’s Crucifix to the United States on the occasion of the Year of Italian Culture in the USA, 2013. The statement was later picked up by several newspapers and websites that circulated the news4. Moreover, on the web portal Arezzo Notizie5, we also read that in addition to the Cimabue Crucifix, the Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo would also be ready to leave for the U.S.: the latter is a bronze dating back to the third or second century B.C. (we are talking about Greek art), found in the sea of Mazara del Vallo in 1998 and now preserved in the same Sicilian city at the Dancing Satyr Museum.

Meanwhile, we fail to understand what is the link that unites the two works, assuming there is one, and we also fail to understand why the loan of Cimabue’s Crucifix “for Arezzo would represent a great recognition,” as the official communiqué reads (in my opinion it should instead be the opposite, that is, it should be a recognition for the United States). We hope that the City of Arezzo will retrace its steps and the San Domenico Crucifix will not be sent to the US. Far be it from us, however, to go into the merits of Arezzo’s municipal policies: after all, it is nice that the mayor cares about promoting his city, because Arezzo is one of the most wonderful places not only in Tuscany but in all of Italy, and by the way, it is a city that is still miraculously on the fringes of mass tourism itineraries.

However, we believe that this is not the right way to promote the city. In the meantime, the San Domenico Crucifix is a fragile work, and I explained just above the reasons for its uniqueness: and precisely because this work is so unique it should be given a lot of thought before making decisions (and, I repeat, we hope that the final decision will be to have the painted cross remain inside the church of San Domenico). Secondly, I fail to see why the city of Arezzo should benefit from the exhibition of one of its masterpieces in the U.S. I do not believe that there is any data confirming that exhibiting a city’s works in another nation brings large tourist flows to the place of origin of the exhibited work, let alone that businesses in the host nation are more likely to entertain economic relations with the city where the masterpiece is located for this reason. And if such data exist, I would be genuinely curious to know them, not least because then I would know I was wrong. :-)

Also in the communiqué it says that “the events planned for the Year of Culture will have formidable media reflections in America” and that therefore Arezzo would be “in the spotlight.” So unfortunately, this seems to be the role of art history nowadays: to ensure “media reflections.” This is to the detriment not only of the emotion thatobserving the work in its original context can give, but also to the detriment of the educational function of works of art: it is clear that if a work becomes a media tool it will be emptied of its values, since the educational ones would be replaced by the economic ones and, I repeat, I do not think, however, that it is possible to demonstrate that the exhibition of Cimabue’s Crucifix in the U.S. can have significant effects on Arezzo’s tourism and the city’s economy.

It would then be interesting to know what the Superintendence of Arezzo thinks about this operation since none of the news reports (or at least none of those I have read) mention expert opinion on the possible exhibition. I conclude just by reiterating our opposition to the operation and hoping not only that the City of Arezzo will think well about this possibility, but also that the Crucifix will remain there where it is, perhaps showing itself to the eyes of overseas travelers who have come to Arezzo as a result of cultural policies aimed at making known in the world not only the great beauty but also the integrity of a cultural heritage set in a historical-artistic context that few other places in the world can boast of having. Finally, I invite all those who want to learn more about Cimabue’s art to listen to the episode of Windows on Art dedicated to the great Tuscan artist!

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Notes

1. See Enrico Castelnuovo, La Pittura in Italia: il Duecento e il Trecento, Elemond, 1989 (p. 367) ↑
2. Eugenio Battisti, Cimabue, Istituto Editoriale Italiano, 1963 (p. 21) ↑
3. It can be read in full by clicking on this link. ↑
4. See Adnkronos, InformArezzo, Arezzo News.↑
5. Cimabue in America along with the Dancing Satyr - Unrepeatable opportunity for Arezzo. ↑

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