Etruscan Art

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Etruscan Art 8th-5th c. BC
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• Few written documents- mostly from tombs, and
  from religious writing
• Used the Greek alphabet, but language is
  completely unique
• Existed in the era of the bronze age- and the
  height of civilization coincides with the archaic
  period in Greece
• Strongly linked culturally to the near east
• Until 700 BC, tombs were simple- human remains
  were put in funerary urns along with equipment
  for the afterlife such as jewelry and weapons
• 700 BC- started to build elaborate tombs-Egyptian
  influence? Also, urns were built in the shape of
  humans
• Never formed a unified nation- city states
  eventually fell to the Romans during the 4th and
  5th centuries BC

Human-headed cinerary urn, 675-650 BC
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Early Etruscan Tombs
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Sarcophagus, c.520 BC
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• Were influenced by the Greeks, but retained their
  own artistic identity
• Tombs grew more elaborate despite Greek influence
• Sarcophagus has Archaic smile
• Both happy and majestic feeling
• Done in terra cotta (soft clay) rather than in
  stone- able to make more rounded, softer forms
• Historical 1st- shows the couple laughing and
  enjoying themselves in the after-life- the
  sarcophagus contained the body and the soul
  (unlike in Egypt)

detail
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• Elaborate murals in the burial chambers, perhaps
  to keep the spirit happy
• Rhythmic quality similar to Minoan, but not
  weightless
• Could be influenced by Egyptian tomb paintings,
  but its more lifelike

Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, 520 BC
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Musicians and two Dancers, 480 -470 BC
Full of energy, females differ from males through
coloring, just like in Egypt
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Youth and Demon of Death, early 4th C. BC

• Later funerary beliefs are less cheerful- woman
  on the left is a demon (wings)
• More thoughtful and melancholy- coincides with
  classical Greek solemnity
• Humankind is in the hands of fate

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Burial Chamber, tomb of reliefs, 3rd C. BC

• Demons decorate later tombs, as well as
  reproductions of weapons, armor, household items,
  domestic animals
• Look like the interior of houses

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Reconstruction of Etruscan Temple

• No ruins because they were built of wood, unlike
  non-religious architecture
• Design is similar to Greek temples- tall base
  (podium), deep porch, cella was subdivided into 3
  parts- religion based on a triad of gods
• No assigned space for sculptures

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• Unlike other temples, Veii did have sculptures
  lining the ridge of the roof
• Muscular, details, in motion- more expressive
  than archaic Greek sculptures of the time
• Made of terra cotta

Apollo from Veii, 510 BC
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She-Wolf c. 500 BC

• Also from Veii (probably an artistic center
• Totemic animal of Rome, also part of Etruscan
  mythology
• Children added during the Renaissance- not
  original

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• Portraiture showed up only after the influence of
  the Greeks
• Worked in Bronze- sensitive and gentle expression

Portrait of a Boy, 3rd century BC
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• Became master craftsmen in metal
• Produced small mirrors and statues for domestic
  use and export
• Probably inspired by Greeks but not Greek
  subject- winged person looking at a liver of a
  sacrificial animal
• Etruscans strongly believed in omens- will of the
  gods manifest itself through natural occurences
  (thunderstorms, flights of birds)
• Priests who could interpret omens were revered
• Priests read the liver of sacrificed animals to
  make predictions

Engraved mirror back, c.400 BC
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Port Augusta, 3rd Century BC

• Masters of architectural engineering (according
  to Romans)
• Very ordered urban planning- streets were
  centered along 2 main thoroughfares to form
  quarters that could be subdivided
• Port Augusta was a fortified city gate and a
  façade- semi-circular true arches-first use of
  the integrated arch- combining with architectural
  orders which highly influenced the Romans

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• Construction of wedge-shaped blocks called
  voussoirs, each pointing to the center
• Discovered by the Egyptians, but used mainly
  underground and never in temples
• Used in Mesopotamia for city gates
• Greeks confined its use to underground structures
  and gateways