Etruscan Art
Ancient History of the Italian
Peninsula
The archaeological record indicates direct contact
between the northern and southern parts of the Italian
peninsula, Sicily, and the Lipari Islands. The Villanovans
flourish in the northern and western parts of the
peninsula, the Etruscans prosper along the coast just
north of Rome, and the Greeks begin to colonize the
southern half of the peninsula and Sicily. The Roman
Republic is established in 509 B.C. and, through
conquest and diplomacy, acquires vast territories as
subject provinces. Political rivalries in the first century
B.C., however, lead to civil wars and the eventual
collapse of the Republic. The principate of Augustus is
established in 27 B.C. and, thus, begins the Principate or
Roman imperial period.
Before the days of ancient Rome's greatness, Italy was the home of a
nation called Etruria, whose people we call the Etruscans. Its civilization prospered
between 950 and 300 BCE. in northwestern Italy — in a region between the Arno
River (which runs through Pisa and Florence) and the Tiber (which runs through
Rome). These people rose to prosperity and power, then disappeared, leaving
behind many unanswered questions concerning their origin and their culture.
Because little Etruscan literature remains and the language of inscriptions on their
monuments has been only partially deciphered, scholars have gained most of their
knowledge of the Etruscans from studying the remains of their buildings,
monuments, vast tombs, and the objects they left behind, notably bronze and terra
cotta sculptures and polychrome ceramics.
Among theories about the Etruscans' origins are the possibilities that they
migrated from Greece, or from somewhere beyond Greece. Perhaps they traveled
down from the Alps. Or, as their pre-Indo-European language might suggest, they
may have been a people indigenous to today's Tuscany who suddenly acquired the
tools for rapid development. The uncertainty is held unresolved.
Theirs was not, however, a centralized society dominated by a single
leader or a single imperial city. Rather, towns and hill-top villages (many of which
survive to this day, albeit with few traces of their Etruscan origins) appear to have
enjoyed considerable autonomy. But they spoke the same language, which also
existed in a written form. Further, their religious rituals, military practices and social
customs were largely similar. For their Greek contemporaries and Roman
successors, the Etruscans were clearly a different ethnic group.
Double Flute Player from the Tomb of the Leopards, Tarquinia
Fishing Scene, Tomb of Hunting & Fishing,Tarquinia
The Capitoline Lupa 6th Cent BCE
She-wolf
also known as the Capitoline Wolf
bronze
ca. 500 B.C.E.
(with Renaissance additions—the twins Romulus and Remus)
Chimera of Arezzo, 4th B.C.
Canopic Urn, Terracotta Ossuary, 7th B.C.
Etruscan Perfume Bottles in Animal
Shapes
Sarcophagus of the Married Couple from The Bandataccia Necropolis, Cerveteri, 6th
B.C.
Sarcophagus of the Married Couple from The Bandataccia Necropolis, Cerveteri, 6th
B.C. (Detail)
Canopic Urns, Impasto,
7th B.C
Side view
Statuette of a Woman, 2nd B.C.
Reminiscent Images in Modern Art
Alberto Giacometti was born into a Swiss family of
artists. His early work was informed by Surrealism
and Cubism, but in 1947 he settled into producing
the kind of expressionist sculpture for which he is
best known. His characteristic figures are extremely
thin and attenuated, stretched vertically until they
are mere wisps of the human form. Almost without
volume or mass (although anchored with swollen,
oversize feet), these skeletal forms appear weightless
and remote. Their eerie otherworldliness is
accentuated by the matte shades of gray and beige
paint, sometimes accented with touches of pink or
blue, that the artist applied over the brown patina
of the metal. The rough, eroded, heavily worked
Standing Woman surfaces of "Three Men Walking (II)“ (at left) typify
his technique. Reduced, as they are, to their very
core, these figures evoke lone trees in winter that
have lost their foliage. Within this style, Giacometti
would rarely deviate from the three themes that
preoccupied him—the walking man; the standing,
nude woman; and the bust—or all three, combined
in various groupings.
Menead Antefix, 6th B.C.
Gorgon Antefix, 6th B.C.
Barrel oinochoe, 8th–early
7th century b.c.; Italo-
Geometric
Italian peninsula, possibly
Campania or Etruria
Terracotta
H. 13 1/4 in. (33.5 cm)
Calyx-krater with theatrical scene,
ca. 400–390 b.c.; Red-figure.
Attributed to the Tarporley Painter
Greek, South Italian, Apulian.
Terracotta
The actor in the center is standing on
his toes with his hands raised as if
he were suspended from a post; out
of his mouth come the words, "he
has bound my hands above."
Evidently he is being punished for a
theft. The stolen goods—a dead
goose and a basket—lie on a
platform to the right. Also on the
platform is an old man or woman,
who gestures as if in remonstrance,
uttering the words "I shall furnish
[testimony]." To the left is the
guardian of the prisoner; he holds a
stick as if ready to beat the thief.
Source: Attributed to the Tarporley Painter: Calyx-krater
with theatrical scene (24.97.104) | Heilbrunn Timeline of
Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Chariot, late 6th century b.c. Etruscan; From Monteleone, Italy
Bronze H. 51 1/2 in
Source: Chariot [Etruscan; From Monteleone, Italy] (03.23.1) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Vocabulary
• Archaic Smile
• Antefix
• Terracotta
• Etruscan
• Red Figure
• Canopic Jar
• Tomb paintings
• Funerary Art