Etruscan Art and Culture Module 6

Etruscan Sculpture

  • Archaic Etruscan art (600-480 BCE) featured terra cotta statues influenced by Greek art but with distinct Etruscan characteristics.
  • Stylistic influences from the Greeks included the Archaic smile and stylized patterning of hair and clothing.
  • Etruscan sculptures had egg-shaped heads, almond eyes, were clothed, and had a higher degree of plasticity.
  • The Centaur of Vulci is a subtractive sculpture bridging the Orientalizing and Archaic periods, using Greek attributes modified to be uniquely Etruscan.
  • The Apulu of Veii, possibly by Vulca from Veii, is a dynamic Etruscan Archaic sculpture depicting Apulu in mid-stride, more dynamic than Greek examples.
  • The Sarcophagus of the Spouses depicts a couple reclining on a dining couch, distinctly Etruscan, animated through gestures, with faces made from the same mold but differentiated by feminine or masculine characteristics.
  • Key terms:
    • Archaic smile: A technique used by Greek Archaic sculptors to suggest that their subject was alive.
    • Subtractive: A sculptural process where material is gradually removed to achieve the desired form.
    • Terra cotta: Earthenware clay fired in a kiln.
    • Akroteria: Architectural ornaments placed on a flat base at the apex of a building's pediment.
    • Additive: A sculptural process where material is gradually attached to achieve the desired form.
    • Sarcophagus: A stone coffin, often inscribed or decorated with sculpture.
  • During the Archaic period, Etruscans built stone and wood temples and created subterranean tombs.
  • Etruscan trade flourished, and the civilization expanded.
  • The art of this period is named for its Greek counterpart, but with significant differences that mark specific sculptures as uniquely Etruscan.
  • The area of Italy that was home to the etruscan civilization is rich in volcanic rocks such as tufa and nenfro. Such materials provide ample media for sculptures that are made through subtractive processes like carving and chiseling.

The Etruscan Culture

  • Etruscan society developed in central Italy. The Orientalizing period connected Etruscan arts with eastern Mediterranean culture.
  • Etruscan civilization flourished in central Italy, expanding as far north as the Po River and as far south as the Tiber River and northern Campania.
  • Despite having a distinct artistic style, due to Greek influence, Etruscan art follows the artistic and stylistic developments of the Greeks, and is divided into similar artistic periods, including the Orientalizing (700–600 BCE), Archaic (600-480 BCE), and Classical (480-200 BCE) periods.
  • Etruscan art during the Orientalizing period demonstrates oriental influences, similar to those seen in Greek art, including the use of intricate designs, patterning, and the depiction of animals-including lions, leopards, and composite animals like sphinxes and griffins.
  • The Etruscans are known for their metalwork, and especially for their skill in crafting gold. Gold jewelry was popular among the Etruscans and often buried with its owners. The fibulas, earrings, bracelets, and other pieces of jewelry and decoration demonstrate Etruscan skill with repoussé and granulation.
  • Key Terms:
    • Pyxis: A shape of vessel from the classical world, usually a cylindrical box with a separate lid.
    • Granulation: The attachment of granules of precious metal to the underlying metal of jewelry.
    • Repoussé: A metalworking technique in which a thin sheet of malleable metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief.
  • During the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, the Etruscans became sea traders and actively participated in Mediterranean trade.
  • Aside from trade, a large part of Etruscan wealth came from the rich natural resources of the territories they lived in. The soil was fertile for agriculture and the land was rich with minerals and metals, which were mined.
  • Etruscan cities and regions appear to have been ruled over by a king, and Etruscan kings are accounted for as the early rulers of Rome.

Etruscan Ceramics

  • The Etruscans are known for their impasto and bucchero pottery, as well as local versions of black- and red-figure vase painting.
  • Impasto is a coarse, unrefined clay used in the production of funerary vases and storage vessels. Its popularity spread beyond the Etruscan civilization, becoming a major exported good to Greek colonies in southern Italy.
  • Bucchero is a fine, often thin, black pottery that is fired and burnished to create a rich, lustrous shine. It was developed to imitate metal and became a luxury good in its own right.
  • Etruscan black-figure painting initially imitated the Corinthian and Attic styles before adopting a manneristic silhouette technique towards the end of its existence.
  • Etruscan red-figure painting began as pseudo-red-figure, involving lighter figures painted on a black slip. Subject matter grew increasingly minimalistic during the second half of the fourth century BCE.
  • Key Terms:
    • Hydria: A three-handled ceramic vessel used for carrying water.
    • Symposium: In ancient Graeco-Roman culture, a drinking party.
    • Bucchero: A type of dark grey Etruscan terra cotta pottery.
  • The Etruscans were well known for their pottery, which was typically made from two materials: impasto and bucchero.
  • Impasto is a coarse form of pottery made from a clay that contains chips of mica, a silicate, or stone. In its soft form, impasto clay can range from red to brown. After it is fired, its surface becomes black and glossy.
  • It was first used by the Villanovan civilization, which preceded the Etruscans, around the tenth century BCE. Between the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, the Greek colonies to the south of Etruria began importing impasto vessels, a testament to their intercultural popularity.
  • The Etruscans used impasto for basic, utilitarian pottery, such as storage jars and cooking pots, as well as for funerary urns during the Orientalizing period. Artists incised the vessels with geometric designs, as well as stylized images of humans and animals.

Etruscan Temples

  • Etruscan temples derive from Greek models but are distinguished by a high podium, deep porch, prostyle columns, and frontality.
  • The superstructures of Etruscan temples were built from wood and mud brick that was often covered in stucco, plaster, or painted for decoration. The temple had a stone or tufa foundation, and the roof was covered in protective terra cotta tiles.
  • Despite their Greek origins, Etruscan temples are unique. They are frontal and axial and often have more than one cella. Etruscan temples stand on high podia with a single central staircase located at the front. Prostyle Tuscan columns stand on a deep porch and support the roof.
  • The temple's wide eaves, low pitch roof, and terra cotta tiles protect the building's organic materials. Antefixes further protect the building from the elements and animals by concealing the wood beams.
  • Akroteria, life-sized terra cotta sculptures, were placed along the ridgepole and on the cornice and peaks to decorate the temple. These figures were often tied together thematically or through myths.
  • Key Terms:
    • Antefix: The vertical blocks that terminate the covering tiles of the roof of a Roman, Etruscan, or Greek temple.
    • Hind: A female deer, especially a red deer at least two years old.
    • Cella: The inner chamber of a temple where the cult image or statue is kept.
  • Etruscan temples were adapted from Greek- style temples to create a new Etruscan style, which, in turn would later influence Roman temple design. The temple was only one part of the templum, the defined sacred space that includes the building, altar and other sacred ground, springs, and buildings. As in Greece and Rome, the altar used for sacrifice and ritual ceremonies was located outside the temple.
  • Today only the foundations and terra cotta decorations of Etruscan temples remain, since the temples themselves were primarily built of wood and mud brick that eroded and degraded over time. The Etruscans used stone or tufa as the foundation of their temples.
  • Tufa is a local volcanic stone that is soft, easy to carve, and hardens when exposed to air. The superstructure of the temple was built from wood and mud brick. Stucco or plaster covered the walls and was either burnished to a shine or painted. Terra cotta roof tiles protected the organic material and increased the longevity and integrity of the building.

Etruscan Tombs

  • Etruscan tombs, grave goods, and necropoleis provide invaluable evidence for the study of Etruscan society and culture.
  • Etruscan burial methods include both cremation and inhumation. The funerary practices of the Etruscans changed from their use of cinerary urns in the shape of huts in the 9th and 8th century to subterranean tombs carved from tufa and living rock that was richly decorated.
  • The Banditaccia Necropolis at Cervetri is known for its tufa tombs craved into tumuli. These tombs often took the shape of Etruscan homes and included roof beams and thatching carved into the ceilings. The tombs hold beds or niches or sarcophagi for the remains of the deceased.
  • The Tomb of the Reliefs is a richly decorated, multi-generation tomb. The walls and pillars of the tomb are carved with a variety of objects that would be used by the dead in the afterlife, from everyday to specialty objects, including dining utensils, helmets, and swords.
  • The Monterozzi Necropolis outside of Tarquinia was used from the 9th century to the 2nd century BCE. It is most well known for its frescoed tombs that include painted scenes of symposia, dancing, hunting, fishing, and ritual.
  • The so-called Tomb of the Augurs was the first tomb in Tarquinia to depict Etruscan funerary customs in addition to the already established mythological scenes. The Tomb of Hunting and Fishing and the Tomb of the Leopards depict typical Etruscan funerary imagery in a common Etruscan painting style. The scenes relate to Etruscan culture and society, and show the inclusion of women in a symposium and a close connection to nature.
  • Key Terms:
    • Cippus: A low, round, or rectangular pedestal used as a funerary boundary post by the Etruscans. The Romans would later use it for military purposes.
    • Dromos: A long, narrow passage to a tomb.
    • Necropolis: A large cemetery, especially one of elaborate construction in an ancient city.
    • Augur: A seer who bases his or her prophecies on interpretations derived from the behavior of birds.
    • Tumulus: A mound of earth, especially one placed over a prehistoric tomb; a barrow.
    • Apotropaic: Intended to ward off evil.
  • Tombs and necropoleis are among the most excavated and studied parts of Etruscan culture. Scholars learn about Etruscan society and culture from the study of Etruscan funerary practice. Burial urns and sarcophagi, both large and small, were used to hold the cremated remains of the dead.
  • Early forms of burial include the burial of ashes with grave goods in funerary urns and small ceramic huts. Later, in the seventh century BCE, the Etruscans began burying their dead in subterranean family tombs. The necropoleis at Cerveteri and Tarquinia are the most well known for their tumuli and frescoed tombs.