Etruscan Art

8th-5th c. BCE

Human-headed cinerary urn, 675-650 BCE

•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

Early Etruscan Tombs

Sarcophagus, c.520 BCE

detail

•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)

Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, 520 BCE

•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

Musicians and two Dancers, 480 -470 BCE

Full of energy, females differ from males through coloring, just like in Egypt

Youth and Demon of Death, early 4th C. BCE

•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

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

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

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

Apollo from Veii, 510 BCE

•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

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

Portrait of a Boy, 3rd century BC

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

Engraved mirror back, c.400 BCE

•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 occurrences (thunderstorms, flights of birds)•Priests who could interpret omens were revered•Priests “read” the liver of sacrificed animals to make predictions

Port Augusta, 3rd Century BCE•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

•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