The Etruscans Unit 6

Fibula with Orientalizing lions, Regolini-Galassi tomb Fibula with Orientalizing lions, Regolini-Galassi tomb. Cerveteri, Italy. 650-640 BCE During the seventh century BCE the Etruscans successfully mined iron, tin, copper, and silver This increased the wealth of society and their was an increase in luxury objects inspired by imported goods This huge gold pin found with other Orientalizing jewelry in a Cerveteri tomb combines repousse and granulation and is the work of an Etruscan artist. The Lions are a near eastern motif.

Apulu (Apollo) from the roof of the Portonaccio temple, Veii, Italy Apulu (Apollo) from the roof of the Portonaccio temple, Veii, Italy. 510-500 BCE The Veii Apulu was a part of a statuary group depicting a Greek myth. Distinctly Etruscan, however, are the god’s vigorous motion and gesticulating arms and the placement of the statue on the temple roof

Sarcophagus with reclining couple from Cerveteri, Italy. 520 BCE Sarcophagi in the form of a husband and wife on a dining couch have no parallels in Greece. The artist’s focus on the upper half of the figures and the emphatic gestures are Etruscan hallmarks.

Capitoline Wolf, from Rome, Italy. 500-480 BCE An Etruscan sculptor cast this bronze statue of the she-wolf that nursed the infants Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome The animal has a tense, gaunt body and an unforgettable psychic intensity. This is one of the best-known of the later Etruscan statues. It has remained the emblem of Rome to this day

Porta Marzia (Gate of Mars) Perugia, Italy. Second Century BCE The arch has a long history in ancient architecture, but it was most commonly used in Etruscan and Roman buildings. Often Greek pilasters (flat columns) or engaged columns frame an arcuated opening This gate was dismantled during the renaissance but the upper part of the gate is preserved.

The Roman Empire

Roman concrete construction Barrel vault Groin vault Fenestrated sequence of groin vaults Hemispherical dome with oculus

Portrait of a roman general from the sanctuary of Hercules, Tivoli, Italy. 75-50 BCE The sculptor based this life-sized portrait of a general on idealized Greek statues of heroes and athletes, but the man’s head is a realistic likeness The eclectic combination is typical of Republican art

Denarius with portrait of Julius Caesar. 44 BCE Julius Caesar was the first to place his own portrait on the Roman coinage during his lifetime. This denarius, issued just before his assassination, shows the dictator with a deeply lined face and neck

Portrait of a husband and wife. Wall painting Portrait of a husband and wife. Wall painting. From a house in Pompeii, Italy. 70-79 CE (AD) This husband and wife wished to present themselves to their guests as thoughtful and well- read The portraits are individualized likeness, but the poses and attributes they hold are standard types

Portrait of Augustus as general, from Primaporta, Italy. 20 BCE Augustus’s idealized portraits were modeled on classical Greek statues They depict him as a never- ageing son of a god This portrait presents the emperor in armor in his role as a general

Pont-du-Gard, Nimes, France. 16 BCE Roman engineers constructed roads and bridges throughout the empire. This aqueduct bridge brought water from a distant mountain spring to Nimes, about 100 gallons a day for each inhabitant

Aerial view of the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) Rome, Italy Aerial view of the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) Rome, Italy. 70-80 CE A complex system of concrete barrel vaults once held up the seats in the worlds largest amphitheater 50,000 spectators could watch gladiatorial combats and wild animal hunts

Portrait of Vespasian. 75-79 CE Vespasian’s sculptors revived the naturalistic tradition of the Republic to underscore the elderly new emperors republican values in contrast to Nero’s self indulgence and extravagance

Portrait bust of Flavian Woman from Rome, Italy. 90 CE The Flavian sculptor reproduced the elaborate coiffure of this elegant woman by drilling deep holes for the corkscrew curls and carved the rest of the hair and face with a hammer and chisel

Arch of Titus, Rome, Italy, after 81 CE Domitian erected this arch on the road leading into the Roman Forum to honor his brother, the emperor Titus, who became a god after his death Victories fill the spandrels of the arcuated passageway.

Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy. The spiral frieze of Trajan’s column tells the story of the Dacian Wars in 150 episodes. All aspects of the campaigns were represented form battles to scarifies to road and fort construction

Interior of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy. 118-125 CE The coffered dome of the Pantheon is 142 feet in diameter and 142 feet high. The light entering through its oculus forms a circular beam that moves across the dome as the sun moves across the sky

Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, from Rome, Italy. 175 CE In this equestrian portrait of Marcus Aurelius as omnipotent conqueror, the emperor stretches out his arm in a gesture of clemency. An enemy once cowered beneath the horse’s raised foreleg

Arch of Constantine, Rome, Italy. 312-315 CE Much of the sculptural decoration of Constantine’s arch came from monuments of Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius. Sculptors recut the heads o the earlier emperors with Constantine's features.

Portrait of Constantine, from the Basilica Nova, Rome, Italy Portrait of Constantine, from the Basilica Nova, Rome, Italy. 315-330 CE Constantine's portraits revive the Augustan image of an eternally youthful ruler. This colossal head is one of several fragments of an enthroned Jupiter – like statue of the emperor holding the orb of world power