etruscan art

c. 900-509 B.C.

Etruscan Art

Early EtruscansUsed clay, bronze, iron, bone and amberBelts, helmets, razors, iron knives, swords, hairpins, combs

and bronze “fibulae” (safety pins for clothing)Architecture

Through Villanovan “hut urns” what houses looked likePost-holes in bedrock to show where they once stood

Villanovans

Hut urn

Etruria: confederacy of 12 city-states

Influences from abroad

“Historical” Etruscans

Civita di Bagnoregio, Province of Viterbo, Central Italy

“Bucchero” wareBlack firing, polished surfaceEtruscan

Pottery

“Impasto” wareGrayish-brownDull surfaceVillanovan

Cerveteri“tumuli”

Monuments of richer cemeteriesExamples of ancient paintingKnowledge of daily life (tombs imitated

Etruscan houses)

Tombs

House for souls in the afterlife

Tomb of the Shields and the Chairs (600 B.C.)

Regolini-Galassi TombGold Fibula

“Helenistic” with reliefs of everyday objects

Tomb of the Reliefs (early 3rd century B.C.)

Temple of Veii (500 B.C.)Dedicated to MinervaUse of wood, mud brick and terracotta vs. stoneCould be entered only from front Columns on one side vs. columns on four sides (Greek)

Temples

Etruscan Temple of Veii (500 B.C.)(reconstruction)

vs. Greek Parthenon

(447 B.C.)

Apollo of Veii (c. 500 B.C.)TerracottaOriginally painted

Sculpture

Greek standing youth“archaic smile”Marble vs Terracotta

Anavysos Kouros

Etruscan sarcophogus (from Cerveteri, late 6th century B.C.) terracotta

“Warrior A,” bronze with bone and glass eyes, silver teeth and copper lips, (c. 460-450)

Mars of Todi (early 4th century B.C.) bronze

Capitoline Wolf (c. 500 B.C.) bronze

Wounded Chimaera (Early 4th century B.C.) bronze

Etruscan portrait from Manganello (1st century B.C.) terra cotta

Head of a bearded man “Brutus” (1st century B.C.) bronze

The Orator (early 1st century B.C.) bronze

Best preserved in tombs Themes of banqueting, athletic competitions,

musical performances related to funeral ritualsEtruscans “borrowed” Greek myths

Painting

From Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, Tarquinia (late 6th century B.C.) wall painting

Head of Velia, from Tomb of Orcus, Tarquinia (4th century B.C.) wall painting

Mirrors

Etruscan and Roman art sprang from similar rootsMajor influences from Greece and other cultures

Stories of the Founding of RomeAeneas

Descendants Romulus and Remus

Etruscan and Roman