GARDINER – CHAPTER 9-1 PP. 223-234 THE ETRUSCANS GARDINER – CHAPTER 9-1 PP. 223-234

THE ETRUSCANS - BACKGROUND “The Etruscans, as everyone knows, were the people who occupied the middle of Italy in early Roman days, and who the Romans, in their usual neighborly fashion, wiped out completely.” – D. H. Lawrence Etruscan art -> deeply influenced by, yet different from, Greek art Etruscan sculpture, painting, and architecture provided the models for early Roman art and architecture ETRURIA = the territory the Etruscans controlled -> northern and central Italy Lacked political cohesion

EARLY ETRUSCAN ART Etruscan art divides into period mirroring Greek art – ETRUSCAN ORIENTALIZING ART = 700-600 BCE ETRUSCAN ARCHAIC ART = 600-480 BCE ETRUSCAN CLASSICAL AND HELLENISTIC ART = 480-89 BCE

ORIENTALIZING PERIOD OF ETRUSCAN ART 7TH century BCE -> mineral wealth transforms Etruscan society Villages become cities -> international trade -> foreign goods - > taste for luxury objects Local artisans inspired by foreign goods with Eastern motifs Fibula with Orientalizing lions, from Regolini-Galassi tomb, Cerveteri, Italy, ca. 650-640 BCE, 1’ ½ “ FIBULA = clasp or safety pin -> used to fasten a woman’s gown at shoulder Combines repousse and granulation -> the work is Etruscan but the lions are Eastern motifs

ETRUSCAN TEMPLES Model of a typical 6th century Etruscan temple as described by Vitruvius Wooden columns, terracotta tiled roof, walls of sun-dried brick Narrow staircase at center of front of temple, temple sat on a high stone podium, columns only in front, deep porch TUSCAN COLUMNS = unfluted wooden columns with bases 3 cellas Pedimental statuary was rare -> life size terracotta narrative statuary on the peak of the temple roof

(2-31/1) TEMPLE OF MINERVA (VEII, NEAR ROME, ITALY) AND SCULPTURE OF APOLLO Temple of Minerva plan c. 510-500 BCE Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa (volcanic rock); terra cotta sculpture FLASHCARD

(2-31/2) TEMPLE OF MINERVA (VEII, NEAR ROME, ITALY) AND SCULPTURE OF APOLLO Temple of Minerva elevation c. 510-500 BCE Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa (volcanic rock); terra cotta sculpture FLASHCARD

(2-31/3) TEMPLE OF MINERVA (VEII, NEAR ROME, ITALY) AND SCULPTURE OF APOLLO Apollo c. 510-500 BCE Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa (volcanic rock); terra cotta sculpture FLASHCARD Apulu (Apollo), from the roof of the Portonaccio temple, Veii, Italy, ca. 510-500 BCE, 5’11” Painted terracotta Calls to mind the Archai korai of the Acropolis in Ionian garb -> but, striding motion, gesticulating arms, calf muscles and animated face are distinctly Etruscan

(2-29) SARCOPHAGUS OF THE SPOUSES Etruscan c. 520 BCE Terra cotta FLASHCARD Sarcophagus with reclining couple, from Cerveteri, Italy, ca. 520 BCE Terracotta masterwork of a husband and wife reclining on a banquet couch Sarcophagus was brightly painted, cast in four sections, monumental size 3’9” x 6”7” No parallel in Greece -> image is uniquely Etruscan Man and women are animated -> different rendering of upper and lower parts of the body -> basic legs, unnatural transition to torso -> focus is on upper half of the figures

BANDITACCIA NECROPOLIS Tumuli/mound tombs in the Banditaccia necropolis, Cerveteri, Italy, 7th to 2nd century BCE Tumulus = similar to Mycenaean Treasury of Atrues Cerveteri tombs were subterranean multi- chambered tombs cut into the local limestone Some as large as 130 feet Tombs arranged along a network of streets Interiors resembled houses of the living -> beds, chairs, doors and ceiling beams were carved out of the bedrock

TOMB OF RELIEFS Most elaborate in decoration of the Ceveteri tombs Tomb of Reliefs 3rd century BCE Painted stucco reliefs cover the walls and piers Tools, mirrors, drinking cups and other items suggest a domestic context

(2-32) TOMB OF THE TRICLINIUM Tarquinia, Italy Etruscan c (2-32) TOMB OF THE TRICLINIUM Tarquinia, Italy Etruscan c. 480-470 BCE Tufa and fresco FLASHCARD Interior Tomb of the Triclinium, Tarquinia, Italy, ca. 480-470 BCE Mural paintings but not carved domestic objects decorate the underground tombs at Tarquinia Tomb of the Triclinium is a single chamber w/ wall decorations painted in fresco -> takes its name from the three-couch dining room of the ancient Greco-Roman Mediterranean, known as the triclinium Banqueting couples, servants, and musicians -> all make exaggerate gestures w/large hands Celebrates life, food, wine, music, and dance -> tone is joyful

TOMB OF HUNTING AND FISHING Diving and fishing, detail of a mural painting in the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, Tarquinia, Italy, ca. 530-520 BCE Recalls paintings in Egyptian tombs Rocks resemble those in Theran Spring Fresco mural Predates the Greek Tomb of the Diver at Paestum