The Etruscans

700-509 BCE

The Etruscans (700-509 BCE)

Dates and Places: •  Eighth to fourth

century BCE •  Northern and

central Italy

People: •  Independent

kingdoms •  Polytheistic •  Fishermen,

traders Map of Etruscan population

The Etruscans

Themes: •  Temples •  Gods and humans •  Funerary goods •  Animals Forms: •  Lifelike, painted sculpture •  Wood, sun-dried brick and

terracotta construction Apulu, ca. 510-500BCE. Terra cotta, 5’10.”

Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome

The Etruscans

Reconstruction of an Etruscan temple after Vitruvius, sixth century BCE.

Example: •  What we know of

Etruscan architecture comes from notes Vitruvius (Roman architect 80 BCE-15 BCE)

•  Vitruvius studied the remains of Etruscan temples –  Specifically their

foundations

The Etruscans

Typical Etruscan temple plan after Vitruvius, sixth century BCE.

Example: •  Unlike the Greeks who

worshipped their gods near temples, the Etruscans worshipped their gods/goddesses in nature

•  Temple plan similar to Greeks with distinct differences

•  Ritual spaces created in groves

The Etruscans

Example: •  Unlike Greeks, Etruscans

place sculpture atop roof •  Apulu of Veii most famos

and best preserved of Etruscan temple sculpture

•  Lack of records limits understanding of aesthetic

Apulu, ca. 510-500BCE. Terra cotta, 5’10.” Museo Nazionale di Villa

Giulia, Rome

The Etruscans Example: •  Etruscans buried dead outside

main cities in the necropolis, or city of the dead

•  Much like city with roads through complex around which tombs are organized

•  Tombs took form of tumulus, around structure containing one or more tomb chambers covered by earth

•  Like Egyptians, the Etruscans buried their dead with goods for the afterlife

•  Tombs provide evidence shows some belief in after

Necropolis at Ceveteri

The Etruscan Example: •  Tomb cut out of tufa •  Decorated like Egyptian

rock cut tombs •  Decorations made out of

stucco •  Reliefs provide inventory

of household items: pots, pans, swords, axes, and rope

•  Decorations to provide necessities and entertainment for afterlife

•  Terracotta sarcophagi found in tumuli

Tomb of Reliefs, Ceveteri, 3rd cent. BCE

The Etruscans Example: •  Etruscans develop new funerary iconography •  Sarcophagus for wealth individual •  Made to contain cremated remains, not body •  Married couple, family unit important element

of Etruscan society

Sarcophagus of the Spouses, from Cerveteri, c. 520 BCE. Painted terra cotta, 6’7.” Musée du

Louvre

•  Wife and husband given equal status

•  Covering offers clue to married state

•  Bodies stop at waist •  Bodies, drapery, almond eyes

indicate contact with Greek Ionia

•  Figures rendered with Archaic features: long, stylized hair, Archaic-type smile, raised cheekbones corresponding with raised eyes; cap for woman, split hair for man

The Etruscans Example: •  Necropolis with tumulus

carved from tufa •  Contains reliefs or mural

paintings –  Geometric patterning on

ceiling joins figures •  Banqueting couples suggest

possible festivities to remember dead

•  Exaggerated gestures •  Gender conventions

maintained •  Leopards guard tomb from evil

Interior of the Tomb of the Leopards, 480-470BCE.

The Etruscans

Example: •  Influence of Egyptian and

Aegean painting evident •  Stylized landscape •  Boots demonstrate

Greek Ionian influence •  Little indication of depth •  Traditional stylized

gesture of mourners •  Possibly guarding door to

the afterlife, more likely entrance to funerary tent

Mourners at the Door to the Other World, Interior of the Tomb of the Augurs,

Tarquinia, 510BCE. Fresco.

The Etruscans

•  Pliny tells us usually placed atop column as memorial

•  Becomes model for political figures and leaders

Example: •  Evidence Etruscan artist working in

Roman Republic commissioned by Republican patron

•  Name of official inscribed on hem of toga

•  Roman versim •  Toga and laced-leather boots indicate

social status

Aulus Metellus (Orator), c.100 BCE. Bronze, 7’1”. National Archaeological Museum, Florence.