Etruscan art

Etruscan art

Etruscan art was made by the Etruscan civilization in central Italy between the 10th and 1st centuries BC. Around 750 BC, their art was influenced by Greek art, but it still had its own special style. They were skilled at making sculptures from clay, painting walls, and working with metal, especially bronze. They also created beautiful jewelry and engraved gems.

Bronze sculptures made by the Etruscans were famous, but few large ones have survived because the metal was often reused. They did not make many sculptures from stone, even though they had good marble, like Carrara marble, which they started using only after the Romans arrived.

Most of the art that remains today came from tombs. These tombs contained stone boxes for the dead, called sarcophagi, and gifts for the deceased. We also have pieces of clay decorations from temples and wall paintings from tombs. These wall paintings often showed scenes of parties and stories from myths. Etruscan pottery began with a black style called bucchero and later included painted vases inspired by Greek designs. Their temples were decorated with colorful clay designs, and much of their art was connected to their beliefs about religion and the afterlife.

History

Further information: Etruscan history

The Etruscans started their art from the Villanovan culture. They were close to and traded with many other cultures, like Greece, Phoenicia, Egypt, Assyria and the Middle East. This influenced their art. Later, the Romans took in Etruscan culture and were also influenced by it.

Etruscan art is usually split into a few time periods. From 900 to 700 BC, called the Villanovan period, people made simple pottery and small bronze objects. From 700 to 575 BC, the Orientalising period, foreign trade brought in more art, especially from Greece. During this time, the Etruscans began to make richer grave goods and more painted vases. From 575 to 480 BC, the Archaic period, Etruscan temples with bright painted terracotta decorations appeared, and stories from Greek mythology became popular in paintings and sculptures. The Classical period, from 480 to 300 BC, saw less art as the Etruscans lost power, but they still made fine bronzes and stone sarcophagi. Finally, from 300 to 50 BC, the Hellenistic period, the Etruscans were slowly taken over by the Romans, and their art began to look more like Roman styles.

Sculpture

Main article: Etruscan sculpture

The Etruscans were good at making sculptures from terracotta, bronze, and alabaster. They did not use stone much, unlike the Greeks and Romans. Many of their terracotta sculptures from temples were broken into pieces, but those from tombs, like the tops of sarcophagi with life-size reclining figures, were often in good shape. Small bronze decorations became important later and were sold to the Romans and others.

One famous bronze piece is the "Capitoline Wolf" in the Capitoline Museum in Rome, though its age is debated. Some well-known Etruscan sculptures include the Apollo of Veii from Portanaccio and the Sarcophagus of the Spouses from Cerveteri. These show the skill of Etruscan artists in making large artworks.

Wall-painting

Further information: Tomb of the Leopards

The Etruscan paintings that have survived are mostly wall paintings from tombs, especially in the city of Tarquinia. These paintings date from around 670 BC to 200 BC, with the most being made between about 520 and 440 BC. Unlike the Greeks, who rarely painted their tombs, the Etruscans created many beautiful wall paintings.

The Etruscan tomb paintings were made by painting onto fresh plaster. They used colors made from minerals and brushes made from animal hair. Some paintings show everyday life, but most show stories from Greek myths. They also painted scenes of parties, sports, and hunting. The way they showed people and animals was not always accurate, and they often added decorative designs around the main pictures.

Vase painting

Main article: Etruscan vase painting

Etruscan vase paintings were made from the 7th to the 4th centuries BC and are an important part of Etruscan art. They were inspired by Greek vase painting, especially styles from Athens. The Etruscans used the same ways to make vases as the Greeks, like black-figure vase painting and red-figure vase painting. Many pictures on these vases showed stories from Greek myths.

The Etruscans made their own vase paintings and also bought many Greek pots. Some Greek artists might have moved to Etruria. Richly decorated vases were often put in graves because they were beautiful, though not as valuable as silver or bronze pots that rich people used every day.

Bucchero wares

The Etruscans made special black clay cups and bowls called bucchero. They made these by heating the clay in a special way. These cups often had white lines drawn on them and were used in tombs as keepsakes.

Terracotta panels

Some large terracotta pieces, called pinakes, have been found in tombs. They are bigger than those in Greek art and can look like a portable wall painting. The Boccanera tomb at the Banditaccia necropolis in Cerveteri had five panels almost a meter high. These panels are now kept in the British Museum. Three of the panels show a scene known as the Judgement of Paris, and the other two had sphinxes. These panels are from around 560 BC. Pieces of similar panels have also been found in city centers, likely from temples and fancy houses. These often show everyday life scenes.

Metalwork

The Etruscans were very good at working with bronze and made many beautiful pieces that we can still see in museums today. After the Romans captured the city of Volsinii, they took many bronze statues away.

One famous example is the Monteleone chariot, which is one of the best-preserved bronze pieces from that time. The Etruscans also made small bronze items that were traded everywhere. They carved detailed pictures onto bronze pieces, especially on the backs of polished bronze mirrors and the sides of special containers called cistae. A main place for making these containers was Praeneste, a town that was part of the Etruscan culture. Some mirrors and their covers had designs carved in a low relief.

Funerary art

The Etruscans were very good at showing people in their art. They buried their dead in two ways: by burning the body or placing the whole body in a tomb. They made special containers called urns for the burned remains and stone boxes called sarcophagi for the whole body. Both were used together for many years.

They made beautiful stone boxes with pictures of the person who died lying down, sometimes with their spouse. These pictures were also put on smaller urns. Later, these urns were made in two parts. The top part often showed a man or woman sitting at a feast, and the bottom part had carvings, sometimes showing stories from Greek tales. Many of these were made quickly, but they still tell us about the time they were made because the colours changed over the years.

Art and religion

Etruscan art was often connected to their religious beliefs. Unlike in ancient Egypt or ancient Greece, the Etruscans had a more serious view of what happened after death. Many Etruscan artworks come from cemeteries, showing scenes about religion and remembering people who had passed away.

Museums

People have been collecting Etruscan objects like painted vases and stone boxes since the Renaissance. Many of these items were sent to other countries before rules stopped it. Today, big museums around the world have many Etruscan items, but the most important collections are in Italy, in cities like Rome and Florence.

Important museums in Italy include the National Etruscan Museum in the Villa Giulia in Rome, the National Archaeological Museum in Florence, the Vatican Museums, the Tarquinia National Museum, and the Archeological Civic Museum in Bologna. You can also visit some cleaned-out tombs in places like Cerveteri.

Between 2021 and 2022, a big show of Etruscan art was held at the MARQ Archaeological Museum of Alicante in Spain. The show, called Etruscans: The Dawn of Rome, had many items from the National Archaeological Museum in Florence and the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum in Volterra.