Download Etruscan Map - Dublin City Schools

Etruscan
Page 1
SLIDE - Etruscan Map
From the 7th century BCE, the Etruscans controlled the Italian peninsula
The Romans defeated them in 509 BCE.
Etruscans are from Etruria, controlled Northern & central Italy (modern Tuscany).
Had fertile soil, lots of ore - they were a wealthy people.
They were farmers, metalworkers, sailors, and merchants.
Traded w/ Greeks and Phoenicians (Lebanon).
Admired Greek art and drew inspiration from it, but didn’t directly copy it.
Incorporated some Greek ideas into their own culture.
SLIDE - Model of Etruscan Temple
HANDOUT
We know very little about the Etruscan’s religious beliefs,
Only foundations of temples remain,
Have a few ceramic votive temples
Have descriptions left by Roman Architect Vitruvius.
They were built on a podium (raised platform)
Had a single set of steps leading up to the front porch.
Mud-brick construction.
Sometimes used Doric Order, sometimes Ionic Order.
Columns made of wood, volcanic rock.
Unfluted, wooden columns supported the roof projected over the porch.
Embellished w/ excellent terra-cotta sculptures on the roof.
Sculpture was placed only on the top, not on the pediment or frieze.
Temple Plan
Columns only used in the front, not on sides or back, like Greek temples.
NOT peripteral.
Plans were almost square - half porch, half interior space.
Could only go up stairs at the front (unlike Greeks - stairs on all sides)
And back was definitely the back - Greek front & back look the same.
Interior space often separated into 3 rooms - housed statues of gods.
(3 Main Etruscan gods - Tinia (Zeus), Uni (Hera), & Menrva (Athena)
They imported Greek deities & heroes into their religious beliefs
We know little else about their religion.
Etruscan
Page 2
SLIDE - Apollo (Apulu).
Veii, Italy. Painted terra-cotta. 500 BCE. 5’ 10” tall.
Etruscans also had an ARCHAIC period, parallels the Greek Archaic 6th century BCE.
Etruscans excelled at creating large terra-cotta figures - very difficult.
Wet clay can collapse upon itself,
Have to carefully regulate kiln temperature.
Was originally part of a 4-figure scene depicting the Labors of Hercules (Herakles).
Was from an Etruscan Temple rooftop.
Looks like the Greek Kouros, has the Archaic smile, influence by Greek kouros/kore.
Compare to Anavysos Kouros, roughly contemporary:
Both have: well-developed body, archaic smile.
Differences: Apollo clothed by a robe, forward moving pose
Not 1 foot forward balancing Egyptian pose.
Implied energy & purposeful movement.
Etrsucan Apollo has more energy, movement, excitement than a Greek kourous.
Much more animated.
SLIDE - Banditaccia Necropolis.
Cerveteri, Italy. 7th to 2nd cent. BCE.
Etruscan afterlife beliefs seem similar to that of the Egyptians.
They cremated their dead, but tombs were still used as homes for the dead.
This cemetery is laid out like a small town, with streets running between grave mounds.
The rounded tombs are all partially or fully below ground level.
Some had corbelled vaulting; all were covered with dirt in a mound shape.
SLIDE - Burial Chamber, Tomb of the Reliefs.
Cerveteri, Italy. 3rd century BCE.
Necropolis - “City of the Dead” even has streets!
Still stand & in excellent shape.
Tumulus -means “mound”. Up to 30’ diameter.
House several generations of a family.
Etruscan tombs look like rooms in a home - plastered, painted, and fully furnished.
Provided earthly comforts for the dead,
Rooms & windows carved from the rock.
Decorations (housewares) made from stucco – a slow-drying plaster.
Everything is provided as earthly comforts for the dead.
There are pots, jugs, robes, axes & other items carved into the posts
They look like real objects hanging on hooks.
Sometimes mythological beasts are carved too,
3-headed dog (Cerberus) on the back of the wall
Guardian of the gates of the Underworld.
An appropriate image for a funerary place.
Etruscan
Page 3
SLIDE - Sarcophagus with Reclining Couple. Cerveteri. 520 BCE. Terracotta. 6’ 7” long.
Life-size, terra cotta - held the ashes of the couple portrayed.
Found in necropolis tombs.
Compare to Greeks - just used a simple stele or statue to mark graves.
Portrait coffins evolved from funerary jars (slide)
Had the sculpted head of the person’s ashes they held.
Provide a domestic touch to the tombs.
The sculpture looks like 2 lively, happy individuals reclining on a couch.
Shows hair and clothing styles of the time.
Smooth, conventionalized body forms & faces
Almond-shaped eyes, smiling – archaic.
Look like they are inviting us to join them - happy hosts.
Happy - at a feast together. Animated hand motions.
Etruscan women held a greater role in society than Greek women did.
Women were often shown sharing with men –
Had greater freedom & independence.
Could sit at banquets with their husbands.
In Greece, only males or “loose” women could attend banquets - not wives.
SLIDE - Musician & Dancers. Tomb of the Lionesses.
Tarquina, Italy. 480-470 BCE.
Tarquina’s painted tombs - walls were decorated with brightly colored paintings.
Scenes of dancing, musical performances, athletic contests, hunting, animals, etc. etc.
Named “Tomb of the Leopards”, “Tomb of Hunting and Fishing”,
“Tomb of the Lionesses”, etc.
Show stylized images of birds, fish, animals, trees, architectural elements, etc.
These tombs at Tarquina were well-preserved.
Painted tombs were rare (wealthy only.)
Unlike Greek tomb paintings, women are participants, not just observers
Skin color indicates gender.
Resemble Minoan frescoes
Joyful & animated, even though these places are reserved for the dead.
Etruscan
Page 4
SLIDE - She-Wolf. Rome, Italy. Bronze. 500-480 BCE. 2’ 7” tall.
Skill of Etruscan bronze workers was widely known. Large-scale hollow casting.
This is one of the most famous symbols of the city of Rome. Made FOR the city of
Rome by Etruscan artist.
According to Roman legend, this wolf nurtured & saved the lives of the twins who
founded the city. (Romulus & Remus)
The twins were sons of the god Mars and a mortal woman. They were left to die on the
banks of the Tiber River by a wicked uncle. This female wolf discovered them,
and nursed them in place of her own pups. The twins were later raised by a
shepherd, and when they were adults, the decided to build a city near the spot
where the wolf rescued them.
Romulus later killed Remus, became Rome’s 1st King.
Etruscans created this wolf in approximately 500 BCE, but the sculptures of the boys
were added later, during the Renaissance period, in the 15th or 16th century CE.
Body is naturalistic, but hair is stylized. She is ferocious, yet at the same time, we
admire her, pity her.
SLIDE - Novios Plautios, Ficoroni Cista. Palestrina, Italy. Late 4th century
BCE. Bronze. Approx. 2’ 6” tall.
After Etruria fell to Rome, Roman patrons held the works of Etruscan bronze artists in
such high regard, that they hired the Etruscans to create bronze works for them.
Because of that, there is no real distinction between Etruscan & Roman bronze
work. They made statues, like the she-wolf, but also small domestic & funerary
items
Cistae are decorative metal boxes (mostly cylindrical) made from sheets of bronze.
They have a lid, handles, and feet separately manufactured and attached.
Cistae are covered with incised decoration on the body and lid.
The function and use of cistae are uncertain. Definitely funerary objects for the deceased
to take into the next world. They may have been given as gifts to the living.
Many were used as containers for toiletries, like a beauty case. Some that were found
contained small objects such as tweezers, make-up boxes, and sponges.
*This one portrays a scene from the Greek story of the Argonauts searching for the golden fleece.
Etruscan
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SLIDE - Porta Augusta. Perugia, Italy. 3rd Century BCE.
Porta = Gate
Etruscans built walls w/ protective gates surrounding the cities.
This gate is a tunnel-like passageway between 2 huge towers. Many just like it.
Shows use of round arch & barrel vault architecture.
Etruscans didn’t invent the round arch
(had been used in the Anc. Near East, Egypt, & Greece)
This was the first widespread use.
Made from precisely cut wedge-shaped stones.
Your text shows a different Gate - Porta Marzia. Same era, similar look.
Portas later evolved into Roman triumphal arches.
SLIDE – Aule Metele. Cortona, Italy. 1st Century CE. Bronze. 5’ 7”.
Even after Romans conquered the Etruscans, they still relied on artists from this area for
their bronze casting skill.
Sculptors of the Republican era sought to create believable, realistic images
Based them on careful observations.
They wanted accurate and faithful portraits – VERISM.
This is a life-size portrait of a Roman official (Etruscan born - from that area of Italy).
His name is inscribed on the hem of his robe in Etruscan letters.
He is often called “The Orator”, as he looks as if he is addressing a gathering.
One arm is outstretched and slightly raised.
Pose of authority and persuasiveness.
He wears sturdy leather boots and a toga - characteristics of Roman officials.
Statues like this one were placed atop columns as memorials to the individual portrayed.