Etruscan and Roman Art Notes Module 6 done

Etruscan Bronze Sculpture

Learning Objectives

• Discuss the different forms of bronze objects produced by the Etruscans.

Key Takeaways

• Few large-scale Etruscan bronze statues remain from the Classical era.

• The Chimera of Arezzo is a unique bronze votive offering to the god Tinia. The sculpture displays:

  • Tense and plastic musculature.

  • Stylized mane.

  • Fierce expression.

• The bronze Ombra della sera depicts the human body in an elongated fashion.

• The Mars of Todi depicts a much more naturalistic representation.

• Small objects such as mirrors and cistae (small boxes) were also made of bronze. They were:

  • Decorated with engravings or low relief casts depicting mythological scenes.

  • Popular grave goods.

• Small bronze objects demonstrate the variety and skill of Etruscan metal smiths.

Key Terms

• Engrave: To carve text or symbols into something, usually for identification or art.

• Cista: A Latin word for a small box used to hold unguents, jewels, or toiletries, generally related to women and domestic functions.

• Pyxis: A small box.

Etruscan Bronze Sculptures

• During its Classical period (480 to 300 BCE), Etruscan art was known for hollow cast bronze sculptures and smaller utilitarian objects.

• Objects such as mirrors and cistae were engraved or incised with imagery, made noticeable by a white substance inserted into the outlines.

• Etruscan sculptures of human subjects range from naturalistic to exaggerated forms.

• Mythical creatures from Greek and Eastern traditions were included.

• Etruscan sculpture incorporates Orientalizing, Archaic, and Classical styles.

• Few Etruscan bronze sculptures survived because they were melted down for other purposes.

Lost-Wax Casting

• Also known as cire perdue, it is the oldest method of producing metal sculptures.

• Any material that can be liquified and solidified can be cast, but metal is most common, with bronze being the most commonly cast metal.

• Process:

  • The sculptor makes a clay mold of the intended sculpture.

  • Coats it in wax.

  • Applies an outer layer of plaster.

Etruscan Art Under the Influence of the Romans

Learning Objectives

• Describe the changes that appeared in Etruscan art during the Roman period.

Key Takeaways

• Funerary imagery changed as the Etruscans began to encounter violence and conquest by the Romans.

• Figures of the underworld demons Charun and Vanth, as well as apotropaic figures, are depicted in tomb paintings and on sarcophagi.

• The Sarcophagus of Lars Pulena depicts:

  • The figures of Charun and Vanth.

  • The deceased as a prosperous Etruscan with a scroll listing his accomplishments.

  • Demonstrates the shifting values in Etruscan society.

• The life-size bronze statue of Aule Metele depicts an Etruscan man dressed and behaving as a Roman, wearing a toga and Roman sandals and posed in a position of oration.

• Temple sculpture also changed, with terra cotta pedimental sculptures adorning at least two temples during the second century BCE.

• Both sculpture groups display Graeco-Roman naturalism and wear Roman-style military attire.

Key Terms

• Veristic: Realistic; true to life.

• Cinerary urn: A vessel used to hold the ash remains of the cremated deceased.

Etruscan Art under Rome

• In 509 BCE, the Etruscan kings of Rome were expelled, and the Roman Republic was established.

• By the fourth century BCE, Rome was expanding across the Italian peninsula, with Veii falling in 396 BCE.

• Etruria was fully conquered by the Romans by the beginning of the first century BCE.

• Roman culture drew from Etruscan roots, while Etruscan society was influenced by Roman culture.

• Art began to adopt a Roman style, displaying the permeation of Roman culture and values.

• The threat of invasion led to the presence of violence in funerary images.

Funerary Art and Sarcophagi

• Funerary art underwent a change in subject matter during the Roman period.

• The figures of Charun and Vanth, demons of the underworld, were depicted with increasing regularity.

The Romans

Learning Objectives

• Describe the rise of the Roman civilization and the people who made up its population.

Key Takeaways

• The foundation myths of Romulus and Aeneas are common means of recounting the founding of Rome, used to justify their bloody culture.

• April 21, 753 BCE, is the date given by ancient Roman historians to the founding of Rome, supported by archaeological research.

• The Romans were descended from the Italic tribes, mainly the Latins and the Sabines.

• Rome originally existed as a collection of autonomous villages atop the Seven Hills.

  • The Palatine Hill marked the original settlement.

  • The Quirinal Hill became the home of the Sabines.

Key Terms

• Septimontium: A festival celebrating the first federation of the Seven Hills of Rome.

• Latial: Describing a cultural element that deviates from the mainstream Latin culture.

• Wattle-and-daub: A composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips are coated with a sticky material.

Foundation Myths

• The Romans used the stories of Romulus and Remus and Aeneas and the Trojans to explain their origins.

• Both stories relate the founding of Rome to brutal murders: Romulus killed Remus, and Aeneas slaughtered Turnus.

• Roman historians used these myths as the reason for Rome's bloody history and civil wars.

The Historical Record

• Archaeological evidence shows that the area of Rome has been inhabited for 14,000 years.

• Evidence supports the date of April 21, 753 BCE, as the founding of Rome, associated with a festival to Pales, the goddess of shepherds.

• Romulus is credited with Rome's founding and establishing monarchical rule.

• Six kings ruled until 509 BCE, when the people rebelled against Tarquinius Superbus and established the Republic.

• The people feared giving one person too much power and feared the tyranny of a king.

Roman Society

Learning Objectives

• Describe the characteristics of Roman society.

Key Takeaways

• Roman society consisted of social classes with varying degrees of power and prestige.

• This structure was echoed on a familial level under the power of the pater familias.

• The Senate remained a fixture from the founding of Rome to the collapse of the Empire.

• As Rome became a global power, its government consisted of levels on the colonial and municipal levels, as well as on the central level.

• The Roman pantheon of gods is comparable to its Greek counterparts.

• The Romans were flexible in their worship and absorbed foreign gods into their pantheon.

• In the Imperial period, an imperial cult developed to worship the emperors who were deified upon their death.

Key Terms

• Pontifex Maximus: The official head of the Roman state's religion; in Imperial Rome, this title was given to the Emperor.

• Plebeian: A free Roman citizen who was not a patrician.

• Equite: The lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians.

• Pater familias: The father, or male head of household.

• Insula: An apartment building that housed most of the urban citizen population of ancient Rome.

• Patrician: A member of a hereditary ruling-class family.

Social Structure

• Life in ancient Rome centered around the capital city with its fora, temples, theaters, baths, gymnasia, and brothels.

• Private housing ranged from urban palaces and country villas to crowded insulae.

• The large urban population required an endless supply of food.

• Area farms provided produce, while animal-derived products were considered luxuries.

• Aqueducts brought water to urban centers, and wine and oil were imported from Hispania, Gaul, and Africa.

• Efficient technology allowed for frequent commerce among the provinces.

• The population within the city of Rome might have exceeded one million, with most Romans living in rural areas with an average population of 10,000 inhabitants.

• Roman society consisted of patricians, equites, plebeians, and slaves.

• All categories except slaves enjoyed citizenship.

Roman Sculpture under the Republic

Learning Objectives

• Describe the defining characteristics of sculpture during the Roman Republic.

Key Takeaways

• Continuous narration arose as a means of telling a story visually, used on public monuments to celebrate status.

• The patronage of public sculpture extended to freedmen, as seen in the tomb of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces the Baker.

• Veristic portraiture depicts the subject in hyper-realism.

• Portraits of Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar set precedents for future imperial portraiture.

• Death masks provided a means for a family to remember their ancestors.

Key Terms

• Verism: The style of portraiture favored during the Roman Republic in which the subjects were portrayed in a super-realistic likeness.

• Continuous narration: A visual art technique that illustrates multiple scenes of a story within a single frame.

• Imperator: A Latin word meaning general or ruler; a title given to triumphant generals during the Republic.

Roman Art in the Republic

• Early Roman art was influenced by the art of Greece and the Etruscans.

• As the Roman Republic conquered Greek territory, its official sculpture became an extension of the Hellenistic style.

• This was due to the large number of Greek sculptors working within Roman territory.

• Roman sculpture departed from Greek traditions in several ways:

  • It was the first to feature continuous narration.

  • Commoners could commission public art.

  • Portraiture celebrated old age with verism.

• Julius Caesar was the first living person to place his portrait on a coin.

• Patrons used these techniques to promote their status in society.

The Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus

• Despite its common title, it was likely a base intended to support cult statues in the cella of a Temple of Neptune.

• The frieze is the second oldest Roman bas-relief known.