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

Iconographic 

Apollo

Visual

• Painted terracotta

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

• Lost arms, but we know they were reaching out 

Iconographic 

• Was once brightly painted

• Garment is a precursor to the Roman toga

• Was an acroterian, as it was 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

Boys Climbing Rocks & Diving (look at SH)

Visual

Iconographic 

Youth Diving (look at smart history for more info on it)

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

Iconographic 

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

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