Art History: Chapter 9 - Etruscan Art

Etruscan Culture (750 - 500 BC)

• Villanova culture settles into northern and western regions

• Consisted of loose city states with a flexible union 

• Etruscans taught later Romans the alphabet 

•  Were influenced across the Italian Peninsula 

• Art consisted on tomb paintings, sculptures, and pottery 

• Art mostly comes from burials 

• Believed in equipping the dead with everything before they transcended to the afterlife 

Barrel-Shaped Oinochoe (Jug)

Visual

• Made of terracotta 

• Depicts a motif of two goats flanking a tree

• Figures are surrounded by geometric patterns 

Iconographic 

• A pouring vessel

• Heavily influenced by Greek geometric pottery

• Motif was originally from the Near Eastern period and a symbol of life-giving forces

• Jug often found with bird-shaped askos 

• Probably a connection between he two vessels and wine rituals 

Amphora with Lid

Visual

• Made of terracotta 

• Naturalistic/abstract figures in red and black 

• Front top panel depicts two mermen 

• Front bottom panels depict birds 

• Back panel depicts two dogs in active poses, ready to fight 

Iconographic 

• Uses black figure technique 

• Shows contrast between black figures and a red background 

• Shows on real narrative, so theme is unknown

• Probably functioned as a storage vessel 

Bucchero

Visual

• Made of terracotta 

• Figures are naturalistic 

• Depicts two deer and a bird in the middle 

Iconographic 

• Used as elite tableware, showing their high status

• Black color by being fired in reduced atmosphere, restricting oxygen

• Often burnished to create a high, metallic sheen

• Many had incised inscriptions 

Canopic Urn

Visual

• Made of terracotta 

• Lid has a head, facial features, and hands sticking out of the handles (anthropomorphic) 

Iconographic

• Likely influenced by Egyptian canopic urns  

• Were found in pit burials 

• Were used to store food for the dead to eat in the afterlife

• Also stored ashes of the deceased

Temple of Minerva 

Visual

• Made of wood, mudbrick, and terracotta

• Consist of triple cellas, high podium, formal front entrance, deep porch with stairs, and a back entrance

• Has a scene depicting the third labor of Herucles, with Apollo close to him

• Figures are naturalistic & idealistic, with a sense of movement and liveliness

Iconographic

• Located in Veii, the principal city of the Etruscans 

• Used to worship dieties in nature

• Mimics Greek temple, but materials weren’t as strong as stone foundations 

Apollo

Visual

• Painted terracotta

• Lifesized with an archaic smile, stylized garment, and naturalistically forward stride 

• Lost arms, but we know they were reaching out 

• Drapery falls flat, creating little loops

Iconographic 

• Was once brightly painted

• Garment is a precursor to the Roman toga

• Featured on top of the temple of Minerva 

• Made by master sculptor Vulca 

Hut Urn

Visual

• Made of impasto: unrefined clay 

• Depicts oval-shaped house with a timbered roof 

Iconographic 

• Deceased Etruscans were cremated instead of buried 

• Their ashes were put into huts for the afterlife 

Cinerary Urn

Visual

• Made of alabaster

• Depicts woman on top with a torque, necklace, and holding a fan

• Frieze at the bottom depicts 4 Greeks fighting Amazons, who’re warrior woman 

• Vanth is depicted on the right, watching 

Iconographic 

• Vanth is an Etruscan goddess that would guide deceased souls through their journey to the afterlife

• Excavated by Heinrich Schielmann, so Amazons were possibly real

• Was originally painted, as there’s bits of paint still on the urn

Cerveteri & Tarquinia Necropolises

Visual

• Contains wall paintings depicting several scenes of an Etruscan funeral

• Contained furniture for the deceased

• Features naked men fighting in a sacred ritual and a captured man being bitten by a wild beast

• Features a red door painted on the back of the tomb, with demons on each side

• Wall paintings also included banquets involving entire family members

Iconographic

• Bloodletting (drawing blood) allowed the soul of the deceased to depart to the afterlife through the red door

• Believedafterlife would be very similar to life on Earth

• Wives and husbands invited to banquets, showing that Etruscans had a positive attitude towards equality

• Anxieites about war triggered demon paintings

Boys Climbing Rocks & Diving

Visual

• Buon fresco painting

• Depicts one boy climbing rocks and another diving

Iconographic 

• May symbolize a dive into the afterlife

Youth Diving

Visual

• Buon fresco painting

• Less decorative and very spacious

• Depicts figure diving from architecture

• Stylized tree with no leaves

Iconographic

• Is a rare Greek wall painting

• Possible metaphor for death

• Possible inspiration from Etruscan funerary art

• Unknown meaning and artist 

Dancers and Diners

Visual

• Buon fresco painting

• Depicts naturalistic, flat figures dancing to musical instruments, like lyres, in active poses

• Depicts couples (diners) watching them as a form of entertainment 

• Top and bottom frieze depicts geometric shapes 

• Textiles clothing depicted several patterns 

• Faces are different per person, giving a sense of individualism 

Iconographic 

• Found in tomb of Cerveteri 

• Joyful celebration is a symbol of Etruscan belief in a cheerful afterlife 

Sarcophagus of the Spouses

Visual

• Made of terracotta

• Is a large ceramic container, with two figures as the lid

• Have stylized features 

• Are lifelike as they extend their arms and embrace eachother in intimacy (contrast to Kouros)

• Woman possibly held a perfume bottle 

• One of them possibly held a pomegranate

Iconographic 

• Found in Cerveteri necropolis 

• One version of the tomb is in Lourve, the other is in Rome 

• Was burnished to create a glossy sheen through the “leather-hard stage” method 

• Fired into four pieces as it may not have fit into the pottery kiln 

• Was broken into 400 pieces, and then reassembled by conservators 

• Most likely held banquet objects, as it was found in an Etruscan tomb with banqueting wall scenes

• Pomegranate was a symbol of the eternal

Married Couple 

Visual

• Made of marble 

• Depicts naturalistic and idealistic reclining figures 

• Intimate moment of a warm embrace as figures look at each other 

Iconographic 

• Influenced by High Classical Greek Marbles 

• Found in Cerveteri necropolis 

Large Parade Fibula

Visual

• Made of gold

• Top is a pair of transverse, hollow cylinders that’re attached to the others by a hinge

• Depicts 5 lions with a rosette border

• Middle is a flat, semi-circular disc

• Depicts various zigzag lines 

• Bottom is an oval-shaped, arched element 

• Depicts friezes of griffins and two double-horned headdresses 

Iconographic

• Found in Regolini-Galassi

• Border is framed with granulation method

• Zigzag lines symbolized water

• Headdresses were a symbol of Hathor, who guided the deceased into the afterlife 

• Stamps used to make lions 

• Due to its size, it’s theorized that it was used for processions/ceremonies

• Etruscan leaders would display items like this to show their high status 

Chimera

Visual

• Made of bronze

• Depicts a chimera: a fire-breathing female creature

• Lion head & body, a goat rising from its back, and a tail ending with the head of a snake

• Active pose shows fierce nature

• Is freestanding

• Inscription on right leg: “offering belonging to Tinia”

Iconographic 

• Was a votive dedicated to the sky god Tinia

• Shows how advanced bronze sculptures were compared to others

Mars of Todi

Visual

• Made of bronze

• Depicts youthful warrior in dynamic pose

• Is in an altered contrapposto stance

• Inscription: “Ahal Trutitis gave gift”

Iconographic 

• Uses lost-wax casting method

• Found on Mount Sanitas near Todi, Italy

• Another votive, probably dedicated to Laran the Etruscan god of war

• Originally had libation bowl and spear in hands

• Probably had a helmet on head

Ficoroni Cista

Visual

• Made of bronze

• Depicts Greek story of Argonauts on a journey for the Golden Fleece 

• Naturalistic and idealistic figures 

• Lively poses, as one man is leaning while another man his has arm around him

• Variation of faces give sense of individualism 

• Sense of depth due to smaller figures in back 

Iconographic

• Cista is a cylinder container used by women for toiletry

• Usage of lost-wax casting method 

• Made by hammering bronze sheet and then shaping it into a cylindrical form 

• Made by Novius Plautius, as his inscription is on the cista

• Got inspiration from Greece 

Hannibal Barca (247 - 182 BC)

• Invaded from city of Carthage

• Conquered much of the Italian Peninsula, including Etruscans

• Were unable to conquer Rome, who was on their own quest for power

• Hannibal returned to Carthage to defend his home against Rome

• Due to this, he loses his territory in Italy and then the war with Rome

Etruscan Coin

Visual

• Made of bronze

• Depicts an African man in the front and an elephant in the back

Iconographic

• Africans were prominent in the Italian Peninsula

• Man depicted is possibly Hannibal

• Elephant is a possible symbol of Hannibal’s army and use of elephants in battle against Romans