Content Area: Ancient Mediterranean, 3500 B.C.E.–300 C.E.
TIME PERIOD
10th century B.C.E. to c. 270 B.C.E.
Height: 7th–6th centuries B.C.E.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: The culture, beliefs, and physical settings of a region play an important role in the creation, subject matter, and siting of works of art.
Learning Objective: Discuss how the culture, beliefs, or physical setting can influence the making of a work of art. (For example: Tomb of the Triclinium)
Essential Knowledge:
■Etruscan art was produced in central Italy.
■Etruscan art is studied as a unit, rather than by individual city-states.
■Etruscan art evinces a long tradition of epic storytelling.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Art making is influenced by available materials and processes.
Learning Objective: Discuss how material, processes, and techniques influence the making of a work of art. (For example: Sarcophagus of the Spouses)
Essential Knowledge:
■Etruscan art reflects influences from other ancient traditions.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Cultural interaction through war, trade, and travel can influence art and art making.
Learning Objective: Discuss how works of art are influenced by cultural interaction. (For example: Apollo from Veii)
Essential Knowledge:
■There is an active exchange of artistic ideas throughout the Mediterranean.
■Etruscan works of architecture and sculpture were influenced by their Greek counterparts.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Art and art making can be influenced by a variety of concerns including audience, function, and patron.
Learning Objective: Discuss how art can be influenced by audience, function, and/or patron. (For example: Sarcophagus of the Spouses)
Essential Knowledge:
■Etruscan art expresses republican values.
■Etruscan art shows evidence of large public monuments.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Art history is best understood through an evolving tradition of theories and interpretations.
Learning Objective: Discuss how works of art have had an evolving interpretation based on visual analysis and interdisciplinary evidence. (For example: Tomb of the Triclinium)
Essential Knowledge:
■Etruscan art is defined by contemporary Roman observers as well as by modern archaeological efforts.
■Little survives of the Etruscan written record.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Etruscans are the people who lived in Italy before the arrival of the Romans. Although they heavily influenced the Romans, their language and customs were different. The ravages of time have destroyed much of what the Etruscans accomplished, but fortunately their sophisticated tombs in huge necropoli still survive in sufficient numbers to give us some idea of Etruscan life and art. Eventually the Romans swallowed Etruscan culture whole, taking from it what they could use.
ETRUSCAN ARCHITECTURE
Much of what is known about the Etruscans comes from their tombs, which are arranged in densely packed necropoli throughout the Italian region of Tuscany, an area named for the Etruscans. Most tombs are round structures with a door leading to a large interior chamber that is brightly painted to reflect the interior of an Etruscan home. These tombs frequently have symbols of the Etruscan lifestyle on their walls. Entire families, with their servants, are often buried in one tomb.
Little is known about Etruscan temples, except what can be gleaned from the Roman architect Vitruvius, who wrote about them extensively. Superficially, they seem to be inspired by Greek buildings, with their pediments and columns, and the cella behind the porch. However, Etruscan buildings were made of wood and mud brick, not stone. Moreover, there is a flight of stairs leading up to the principal entrance, not a uniform set of steps surrounding the whole building. Sculptures were placed on the rooftops, unlike in Greek temples, to announce the presence of the deity within.
Temple of Minerva, 510–500 B.C.E., mud brick or tufa (volcanic rock) and wood, Veii (near Rome), Italy (Figures 5.1a and 5.1b)
Form
■Little architecture survives; this model is drawn from descriptions by Vitruvius, a Roman architect of the first century B.C.E.
■Temple raised on a podium; defined visible entrance.
■Deep porch places doorways away from the steps.
Function
■Temple dedicated to the goddess Minerva, the Etruscan equivalent to the Greek Athena.
Figure 5.1a: Reconstruction drawing of the façade of the Temple of Minerva, 510–500 B.C.E., mud brick or tufa (volcanic rock) and wood, Veii (near Rome), Italy
Materials
■Temple made of mud brick and wood, perishable materials.
Context
■Steps in front direct attention to the deep porch; entrances emphasized.
■Three doors represent three gods; interior divided into three spaces.
■Etruscan variation of Greek capitals, called the Tuscan order (Figure 5.2).
■Inspired by Greek architecture, but different:
–Columns are unfluted and made of wood, not marble as in Greece.
–Pediments are made of wood and contain no sculpture, as in Greece.
–Etruscan columns were spaced further apart than Greek columns because they were made of lighter material.
–Etruscans used sculpture made of terra cotta rather than stone on their roofs; columns are unfluted, made of wood, not marble as in Greece.
Figure 5.1b: Ground plan of the Temple of Minerva
Figure 5.2: Tuscan capital
Content Area Ancient Mediterranean, Image 31
Web Source https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wOezNYCGLc4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Ancient Temples
–Parthenon (Figure 4.16a)
–Pantheon (Figure 6.11a)
–Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut (Figure 3.9a)
ETRUSCAN PAINTING
What survives of Etruscan painting is funerary, done on the walls and ceilings of tombs—some 280 painted chambers are still extant. Brightly painted frescoes reveal a world full of cheerful Etruscans celebrating, dancing, eating, and playing musical instruments. Much of the influence is probably Greek, but even less Greek painting from this period survives, so it is hard to draw firm parallels.
Tomb of the Triclinium, c. 480–470 B.C.E., tufa and fresco, Tarquinia, Italy (Figure 5.3)
Form
■Ancient convention of men painted in darker colors than women.
■Polychrome checkerboard pattern on ceiling; circles may symbolize time; pattern may reflect motifs on fabric tents erected for funeral banquets.
Function
■Painted tomb in an Etruscan necropolis.
Content
■Funerals seen as moments in which to celebrate the life of the deceased.
■Dancing figures play musical instruments in a festive celebration of the dead.
■Trees spring up between the main figures, and shrubbery grows beneath the reclining couches—perhaps suggesting a rural setting.
Figure 5.3: Tomb of the Triclinium. c. 480–470 B.C.E., tufa and fresco, Tarquinia, Italy
Context
■Banqueting couples recline while eating in the ancient manner.
■Named after a triclinium, an ancient Roman dining table, which appears in the fresco.
Content Area Ancient Mediterranean, Image 32
Web Source http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1158/video
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Fresco murals
–Arena Chapel (Figure 13.1b)
–Sistine Chapel (Figure 16.2a)
–House of the Vettii (Figures 6.7a, 6.7b)
ETRUSCAN SCULPTURE
Etruscans preferred terra cotta, stucco, and bronze for their sculpture; on occasion, stonework was introduced. Terra cotta sculptures were modeled rather than carved. The firing of large-scale works in a kiln betrays great technological prowess.
Most Etruscan sculpture shows an awareness of Greek Archaic art, although the comparisons go only so far. In Greece, kouros figures were carved as stoic and proud, with an occasional smile to give life. For the Etruscans, whose terra cotta work was brilliantly painted, figures move dynamically in space, aware of the world around them. Both cultures emphasized the broad shoulders of men and a stylization of the hair; however, the Etruscans avoided nudity.
Sarcophagus of the Spouses, c. 520 B.C.E., terra cotta, Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome (Figure 5.4)
Form
■Full-length portraits.
■Great concentration on the upper bodies, less on the legs.
■Bodies make an unnatural L-shape at the waist.
■Broad shoulders, knotted hair, and simple anatomical details.
Figure 5.4: Sarcophagus of the Spouses, c. 520 B.C.E., terra cotta, Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome
Function
■Sarcophagus of a married couple, whose ashes were placed inside, or perhaps a large urn used for the ashes of the dead.
Technique
■Large terra cotta construction made in four separate pieces and joined together.
Content
■Both once held objects in their hands—perhaps the man held an egg to symbolize life after death; other theories suggest the woman is holding a bottle of perfume or a pomegranate.
■The couple reclines against wineskins that act as cushions; the wineskins allude to the ceremony of sharing wine at funerary rituals.
Context
■Depicts ancient tradition of reclining while eating; men and women ate together, unlike in ancient Greece.
■Symbiotic relationship: the man has a protective arm around the woman and the woman feeds the man, reflecting the high standing women had in Etruscan society.
Content Area Ancient Mediterranean, Image 29
Web Source http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/sarcophagus-spouses
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Funerary Monuments
–Grave stele of Hegeso (Figure 4.7)
–Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut (Figure 3.9a)
–Army of Emperor Shi Huangdi (Figure 24.8a)
Figure 5.5: Master sculptor Vulca, Apollo from Veii, c. 510 B.C.E., terra cotta, Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome
Master sculptor Vulca, Apollo from Veii, c. 510 B.C.E., terra cotta, Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome (Figure 5.5)
Form
■Figure has spirit, strides quickly forward.
■Archaic Greek smile.
■Meant to be seen from below.
■Tightly fitting garment.
■Hair in knots, dangles down around shoulders.
■Originally brightly painted.
Materials
■Masterpiece of terra cotta casting.
Context
■Unlike Greek sculpture, which appears in pediments and is made of stone, Etruscans prefer terra cotta figures that are mounted on roof lines.
■One of four large figures that once stood on the roof of the temple at Veii.
■Part of a scene from Greek mythology involving the third labor of Hercules; Apollo looks directly at Hercules, an important figure in Etruscan religion.
■May have been carved by Vulcan of Veii, the most famous Etruscan sculptor of the age.
Content Area Ancient Mediterranean, Image 31
Web Source http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/etru/hd_etru.htm
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: The Figure in Motion
–Shiva as Lord of Dance (Figure 23.6)
–Nio guardian figures (Figures 25.1c, 25.1d)
–Running horned woman (Figure 1.9)
VOCABULARY
Necropolis (plural: necropoli): a large burial area; literally, a “city of the dead”
Stucco: a fine plaster used for wall decorations or moldings
Terra cotta: a hard ceramic clay used for building or for making pottery (Figures 5.4 and 5.5)
Triclinium: a dining table in ancient Rome that has a couch on three sides for reclining at meals
Tufa: a porous rock similar to limestone
Tumulus (plural: tumuli): an artificial mound of earth and stones placed over a grave
Tuscan order: an order of ancient architecture featuring slender, smooth columns that sit on simple bases; no carvings on the frieze or in the capitals (Figure 5.2).
SUMMARY
The Etruscans were a people who occupied central Italy before the arrival of the Romans—indeed, the region Tuscany is named for them. The remains of their civilization can be gleaned from written sources of later historians like Vitruvius or from what was buried in their expansive necropoli.
The Etruscans erected large mound-shaped tombs that contained a single large room in which the deceased were interred. The wall murals and stucco designs on the interior of the tombs are thought to parallel the interior of Etruscan homes. Large sarcophagi, made of terra cotta, were placed within the tomb, usually containing the ashes of the deceased. The style of these works betrays a knowledge of Archaic Greek works from around the same time.
The Etruscans were eventually overwhelmed by the Romans, who continued to employ Etruscan artists well into the Roman Republic.
PRACTICE EXERCISES
Multiple-Choice
Questions 1 and 2 refer to the image below.
1.The sculpture of Apollo from Veii is inspired by ancient Greek works like kouroi figures, but differs from their Greek Archaic contemporaries in that
(A)Etruscan works have a smile that adds a lifelike quality to the sculpture
(B)Greek works are life-size
(C)Greek works have a more firmly articulated body
(D)Etruscan works move in space more dramatically
2.The Apollo from Veii was probably originally placed
(A)in a city square as a commemoration
(B)in a cemetery as a grave marker
(C)on a temple roof as part of a reenactment of a mythological story
(D)in a government building as a guiding spirit
3.In addition to the Etruscans, which of the following cultures also placed tombs in tumuli?
(A)Egyptian
(B)Korean
(C)Persian
(D)Aztec
4.Etruscan art is unique for its time in its
(A)use of painted terra cotta
(B)ability to show contrapposto in large-scale sculpture
(C)tradition of depicting men and women together in a funerary monument
(D)painting of stone sculpture to give a work its lifelike quality
5.Etruscan tombs have fresco paintings that show
(A)funerary banquets
(B)mythological scenes
(C)historical panoramas
(D)Last Judgment scenes
Short Essay
Practice Question 6: Continuity and Change
Suggested Time: 15 minutes
This is the reconstructed façade and ground plan of the Temple of Minerva from Veii, Italy, built around 510–500 B.C.E.
Temples like these were influenced by temple construction from ancient Greece. Identify an ancient Greek temple.
Using at least two specific details, analyze how the ancient Greek temple influenced construction of the Etruscan temple.
Using specific details, discuss how Etruscan temples differ from Greek temples both in construction and function.
ANSWER KEY
1.D
2.C
3.B
4.C
5.A
ANSWERS EXPLAINED
Multiple-Choice
1.(D) Etruscan works stride forward rather than stand at attention like kouroi from Archaic Greece.
2.(C) Sculptures like these were placed on the roofs of buildings, indicating important moments in mythological stories.
3.(B) Etruscan art is found in tumuli, like the gold and silver crown from the Silla Kingdom in Korea.
4.(C) The Sarcophagus of the Spouses showcases the Etruscan novelty of depicting a relative parity between the sexes.
5.(A) Etruscan tombs, like those of the Triclinium in Tarquinia, Italy, depict people celebrating the life of the deceased with a funerary banquet.
Short Essay Rubric
Task |
Point Value |
Key Points in a Good Response |
|
Identify an ancient Greek temple. |
1 |
Parthenon in Athens, Greece, by Iktinos and Kallikrates, c. 447–424 B.C.E., marble or Temple of Athena Nike by Kallikrates, c. 425 B.C.E., marble, Athens, Greece |
|
Using at least two specific details, analyze how the ancient Greek temple influenced construction of the Etruscan temple. |
1 point for each detail |
Answers could include: ■Greek elements of construction: pediment, columns, stairs, outdoor porch. ■Held a cult statue. ■Main room with subsidiary rooms. ■Decorated with sculpture. ■Both used to worship gods. |
|
Using specific details, discuss how Etruscan temples differ from Greek temples both in construction… |
1 |
Answers could include: ■Made of wood, mud brick, and tufa; not marble as in Greek buildings. ■Sculpture made of terra cotta, not marble as in Greek buildings. ■Four-column front, not eight or more as in Greek buildings. ■Walls around sides and back differ from columns all around the building in Greek buildings. ■Capitals done in the Tuscan order, not Doric or Ionic as in the Greek buildings. |
|
…and function. |
1 |
Answers could include: ■Flight of stairs in the front, not all around the sides as in Greek buildings, indicating a clearly marked entrance. ■Interior porch leads to three chambers, indicating a different function for each, not one chamber as in Greek buildings. ■Building sits on a raised podium commanding attention. |