ETRUSCAN ART

POST BY 5:00 FEBRUARY 17

"The Etruscans as everyone knows, were the people who occupied the middle of Italy in early Roman days, and whom the Romans, in their usual neighbourly fashion, wiped out entirely." D. H. Lawrence

The origins of the Etruscan people is unclear.

The Etruscans lived in an area whit great natural resources.  Iron,. tin, copper and silver were all mined in Etruria.  The Etruscans were also masters of the sea.  The agrarian economy of early times was replaced by international commerce.  The Etruscans themselves became wealthy and appreciated luxury items as well as used Eastern motifs.  Local craftsmen were inspired by these imports. They did not copy them though they created their own versions in Etruscan style.

At the end of the 7th century Etruscan artists created the first known example of monumental statuary.  The Centaur, from Vulci.  The centaur is a Greek inspired monster. It was placed at the necropolis in Vulci presumably as a tomb guardian.  Art historians think that the inspiration for this work may have come from Greek vase paintings.  The style of the man portion of the centaur is Greek inspired.  The left leg is engaged and the hair and face are also of the early Daedalic style.  However, the placement of the centaur as a tomb guardian is "un-Greek."

Etruscan Temple
Etruscan temples were superficially similar to Greek temples.  The Etruscans used wood and mud brick to build their temples so today only the foundations remain.  Temples typically had a gabled roof.  They also stood high on a podium.  Columns were used only in the front of the building and stairs came only to the front.  Unlike Greek temples which had stairs on all sides and the front and back of the temple were identical.  Etruscan columns resembled Greek Doric columns but they were made of wood and were not fluted and had bases.  Along the roof were terracotta statues.  Apollo

The Greeks did not create large funerary items like tombs and sarcophagi.  One example of an Etruscan sarcophagus is the reclining couple from Cerveteri.  Contrary to the Greeks where the men dined on couches this sarcophagus clearly shows a man and his wife dining together.  Aristotle noted that Etruscan men and women dined together  and women enjoyed freedoms not known to Greek women.  Etruscan women often kept their own names and were allowed to legally own property independent of their husbands.  As is part of the current Italian culture, the Etruscans used gestures with their speech  and represented this animation in their statues.  The Etruscans built great tombs.  The tomb architecture consisted of multiple chambers very similar to their homes.  The tombs were arranged in the cemeteries in orderly rows with a network of streets creating a necropolis or city of the dead.  The tombs were cut into the bedrock and decorated just as a home would be with bright paint and creature comforts.  The most elaborate tomb at Cerveteri is the tomb of the reliefs.  It was built to house several generations of the same family but the bedrock walls and pillars were covered with stucco relief.

In 509 B.C. the Roams who had been ruled by the Etruscans revolted and threw out the last Etruscan king.  They replaced the monarch y with a republican form of government.  Shortly after this the Etruscan fleet was defeated and this destroyed the Etruscans rule of the sea.  This defeat also marked the end of Etruscan prosperity.  Rome began conquering Etruscan territories.  The taking of Etruscan strongholds marked the end of Etruscan tombs and effected the quality of Etruscan furnishings.  Etruscan art did not cease though.  Impressive works were still produced just fewer in number.

Today's symbol of Rome The Capitoline Wolf was created by an Etruscan artist.  It is a she-wolf (hollow-cast bronze) who according to legend nursed the heroes of Rome, Romulus and Remus after they were abandoned as infants.The Roman style of art had not yet developed.  Romulus and Remus were Renaissance additions.

In Hellenistic Etruria the Porta Marzia is a precursor to the Roman practice of erecting triumphal arches.
Porta Marzia  We can see Greek inspired motifs.  The pilasters, and arches bracketed by engaged columns.  These Greek elements are still seen in architecture.

One more Etruscan masterpiece is Aule Metele or Arringatore, Orator He is portrayed as a magistrate raising an arm to address an assembly (hence the title).He is cast in bronze.  Reply MLITB to Mrs. Lubinski as your assingment this week.  Be sure you read all of this becasue you will be held resonsible for it later! At about the time Arringatore was produced by an Etruscan the Romans conferred citizenship upon all inhabitants of Italy.  Aule Metele is his Etruscan name and the names of his father and mother are inscribed on the hem of his Roman style toga and boots.  He is Etruscan in name only.  He became Roman and all Etruscan art became Roman art.