1. TheyWhoWould Be Rome
TheArt & Culture OfAncient Etruria
Art Appreciation – ART1204
Professor Will Adams

2. The Etruscan People
§ The Etruscans were the first
historic people in Italy
§ Etruscan writing has still not
been deciphered
§ Their religion was very
similar to Egyptian and
Greek; they were
polytheistic and shared same
gods as the Greeks but they
had a strong belief in the
afterlife like the Egyptians
§ Most Etruscan art is funereal.

3. The Etruscan History
§ Three periods of Etruscan
History:
§ Villanovan Period: 9th
-8th centuries BCE:
Similar to Greek
Geometric Period in art
§ Orientalizing Phase: 750
– 575 BCE: Etruscans
reach height of their
power
§ Archaic Period: 550 –
350 BCE: Coincides
with Greek Archaic
Period; heavy Greek
influence; most artwork
from this period

4. EtruscanArt
§ Etruscan Art
Characteristics:
§ Heavy use of bronze
and terracotta
§ Humans not always in
proportion – not
concerned with ideal
forms
§ Many mythological
themes: animals, heroes,
and gods
§ Most art is related to
funerals, tombs and
afterlife themes

5. EtruscanArt
§ Apollo of Veii c. 750
BCE
§ Found in Veii, Italy
§ Terracotta sculpture
§ Terracotta is easily
sculpted but also
delicate
§ It is recognized as a
masterpiece of Etruscan
Art
§ Originally it crowned
an Etruscan temple

6. EtruscanArt
§ A Reconstructed
Etruscan Temple
(700-539 BCE)
§ Columns were smooth
and did not surround
temple
§ Only one set of stairs
leading up to stylobate
§ Lots of terra-cotta
sculpture – especially
on roof
§ Front and Back sides
no longer the same

7. EtruscanArt
§ Portrait of a Boy c.
300-100 BCE
§ Uncovered in Chiusi,
Italy
§ Bronze sculpture
§ The boy appears to be
looking away, perhaps
toward a far away
land
§ The Etruscans were
famous for their
bronze work, created
using the lost wax
method

8. EtruscanArt
§ Capitoline Brutus c.
300 BCE
§ Unearthed in Rome,
Italy
§ Bronze sculpture
§ Considered to be cast
by Etruscan artists who
were skilled in bronze
work, although it
represents a famous
Roman politician
§ Brutus was an early
hero of the Roman
Republic, not the same
person who killed Julius
Caesar

9. EtruscanArt
§ L’Arringatore (The
Orator) c. 75 BCE
§ Found in the region of
Perugia Italy
§ Free-standing bronze
sculpture-in-the-round
§ Aulus Metellus was the
name of the man, a
great Roman speaker
§ Although the work is
Etruscan, the style and
clothing are completely
Roman

10. EtruscanArt
§ The Necropolis at
Cerveteri 7th - 2nd
centuries B.C.E.
§ Cerveteri, Italy
§ Funerary architecture
§ The Etruscan tombs
(called tumuli)
resembled homes and
businesses in many
details

11. Scenes FromA Necropolis
These
photos
were taken
at the
Cerveteri
necropolis.
Notice the porous, spongy-looking tuff
that the necropolis is constructed from.

12. Scenes FromA Necropolis
Notice
that the
tombs are
arranged
within
“blocks” –
just like a
city!

13. Scenes FromA Necropolis
It is uncanny how much
an Etruscan tumulus
resembles a tholos tomb
of the Mycenaeans. Does
this indicate cultural
diffusion?
Additionally, many tombs were dug deep
enough to have cellars beneath them.

14. EtruscanArt
§ Tomb of the Reliefs, 3rd
Century BCE
§ Cerveteri, Italy
§ Architecture/Relief
Sculpture
§ Richer people could
afford sculpture in their
tombs – this is the tomb
of a metal worker – note
the reliefs of swords,
armor, shields, etc.
§ The tumulus was
designed to look like an
Etruscan dining room, or
triclinium

15. EtruscanArt
§ The Tomb of Hunting
and Fishing, 520 BCE
§ Located in the
necropolis of Tarquinia,
Italy
§ The interior – carved
from volcanic tuff – is
painted in fresco scenes
of boating, birding,
swimming & diving
§ These are some of the
first images of
swimmers in art
history.

16. Additional Etruscan Frescoes
It appears that family, leisure, and
entertainment were all very central to
the lives of the ancient Etruscans, with
feast scenes featured prominently.

17. EtruscanArt
§ Sarcophagus of
Married Couple, c.
520 BCE
§ Found at the Cerveteri,
Italy necropolis
§ Terracotta sculpted coffin
§ This coffin of a married
couple tells us that
Etruscans believed that
the afterlife was same as
this life.
§ The couple are shown
reclining on typical
Etruscan dining couch
while embracing one
another.

18. Additional Etruscan Sarcophagi
Note how detailed,
naturalistic, and life-like
these sculpted Etruscans
appear – these are not
the idealized “perfected”
forms of Classical
Greece!
This interest in
true-to-life
naturalism is
what the later
Romans referred
to as verism.

19. EtruscanArt
§ The Capitoline She-
Wolf, c. 500 BCE
§ Discovered on Rome’s
Capitoline Hill
§ Bronze, lost wax
sculpture
§ It is a typical Etruscan
example of bronze
animal sculpture
§ The twins (Romulus &
Remus) were added in
the Renaissance
§ This has become the
symbol of the city of
Rome

20. EtruscanArt
§ The Chimera of
Arezzo, 400 BCE
§ Found in Arezzo, Italy
§ Bronze, lost wax
sculpture of the mythical
chimera monster
§ The chimera has the face
and body of a lion, a
ram’s head & neck
projecting from its back,
and a serpent for a tail.
§ Great technical virtuosity

21. Acta Est Fabula