A vast empire, a complex pantheon, cultural sophistication, a tragic demise’Rome? Certainly, but also the Aztec Empire, another highly successful civilization that by the time of Hernando Cortez’s conquest in 1519 had dominated large parts of Mesoamerica for three centuries. Indeed, empires thrive and endure by exploiting similar strategies, such as a shared belief system that supports code of laws, a hierarchical social structure, economic superiority and a highly developed defense. Clues to the economic, cultural and social activities of the Aztec Empire are revealed in ‘The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of Empire,’ on view at the Getty Villa through July 5. Masterworks of Aztec sculpture, largely from the Museo Nacional de Antropologia and the Museo del Templo Mayor in Mexico City, are the point of departure for this exploration of the monumental art of this empire. But to enjoy this exhibition, a bit of history about the origins of the Aztec world and the primary gods and goddesses helps. What we know about the Aztecs comes from first-hand accounts primarily from post-Conquest documentation. These codices are more like books, illustrated to a written text. Certainly, one of the outstanding displays in the Getty exhibit is the ‘Historia general de las cosas de Nueva Espa’a’ (1575-1577), written by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahag’n. Known familiarly as the Florentine Codex (1559-67), this chronicle of Aztec history and culture has traveled to the Getty from its home in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence for the first time in 400 years. The book contains pictures painted by the sons of Aztec aristocrats, explained on the left side of the page in Spanish and on the right in Nahuatl (the language of the Aztec). Sahag’n arrived in Mexico in 1529 to teach Latin, rhetoric and theology to indigenous youth training for the priesthood. In the late 1540s, his order commissioned him to undertake a systematic investigation of the rapidly vanishing world of the Aztecs, as it existed before the Conquest. Working with his students and native elders, he began what would become a 30-year project. In the book, he assembled an incomparable account of native religion, astronomy, customs, commerce and natural history, as well as the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Illustrated with over 2,400 images, the manuscript opens with watercolor images of the chief Aztec deities, many of whom are identified with classical gods: e.g., Huitzilopochtli is called ‘otro Hercules,’ and Chicomecoatl is equated with the Roman goddess Ceres, as they both held sway over agricultural fertility. Aztec is the Nahuatl word for ‘people of Aztlan,’ a mythological place for the Nahuatl-speaking culture of the time, and later adopted as the word to define the Mexica (Mexican) people. The term Aztec refers exclusively to the Mexican people of Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City). According to Sahag’n’s codex, the history of this settlement follows the wanderings of the patron deity, Huitilopochtli, who directed his wanderers to found a city on the site where they would see an eagle devouring a snake perched on a fruit-bearing nopal cactus. Situated on an island in Lake Texcoco, Tenochtitlan was laced with major irrigation canals, interspersed by larger causeways (roads). This island city relied on Chinampas, a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculture that used small, rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops. The elite lived close to the center of the city, which was also the main ceremonial precinct. The Z’calo in Mexico City sits on top of the ancient mercado. From the 13th century, the Valley of Mexico was the core of Aztec civilization, which over the next two centuries expanded its political hegemony far beyond the Valley of Mexico, conquering city-states throughout Mesoamerica. Through a series of long-distance campaigns, under the emperor Ahuitzotl, the Aztecs by the 15th century dominated as many as 25 million people living throughout the Mexican highlands. After Ahuitzotl died in 1502, his nephew Montezuma was left to deal with the mounting internal dissent within the far-flung empire and the impossibility of raising an army from among the few Mexica communities that remained loyal. This spelled the doom of the Aztec empire, which was ill-equipped to confront the Spanish soldiers. Montezuma’s successor, Cuitlahuac, succumbed to smallpox, a disease that decimated millions and vanquished the Aztec empire more surely than any invading army. Subsequently, the Spanish founded the new settlement of Mexico City on the site of the ruined Aztec capital. At its pinnacle, Aztec culture had rich and complex mythological and religious traditions, while achieving remarkable architectural and artistic accomplishments. In 1978, some electricity workers unearthed an 8-ton stone disc of Coyolxauqui (‘Koh-yol-SHAU-kee’), an Aztec goddess. Further exploration revealed an entire archaeological wonder lying beneath Mexico City’s streets, and officials decided to demolish some old colonial buildings to reveal the Templo Mayor (Main Temple) and the place where it is believed the Aztecs saw the sign of the eagle perched on a cactus and devouring a snake given to them by their gods. It was at the Templo Mayor that the ascendance of Huitzilopochtli was reenacted by Mexica warriors and captives seized during military campaigns. Captives assumed the role of cosmic enemies. They were the living proof of Huitzilopochtli’s omnipotent power, which was manifested in his warriors, who repaid his blessings with human sacrifices. The present world came into being only through the self-sacrifice of a hero who was transformed into the sun. Without a gift from humankind to equal his own, however, the sun would refuse to move across the sky. Warfare was required to feed the sun his holy food (blood) and perpetuate life on earth. In their understanding of the astonishing civilization, the Spanish conquistadors and missionaries viewed the Aztecs in a Greco-Roman context. In the Getty Villa exhibition we can see the monumental cult statues, reliefs and votive artifacts, just as the explorers of the Old World did as they tried to make sense of the New World. The Getty Villa is open Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For tickets (required) visit getty.edu/visit or call 310-440-7300. Admission is free; parking is $15.
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