Midterm II: Etruscan Art Flashcards
Temple of Veii
How does discussion of Etruscan art and architecture revolve around the notions of originality and conventionality?
There are many aspects in which Etruscan art and architecture expresses influences from Greek art, but has its own unique spin on it, for example in Tuscan order columns, the terra cotta Apollo of Veii sculpture (archaic smile, like a kouroi, but wearing draped clothing, dynamic pose)
Basic components of the Etruscan temple
- Located high on hills so they were easy to see-different from Greeks, where temples were generally in the middle of a sacred precinct.
- Had columns, but the proportions and materials were different–Tuscan Order.
- Stairs were only in the front, no peripteral colonnade.
- The Temple of Veii had a single entryway with a thick, heavy roof made of wood or oak.
- Even division between porch and interior space.
- They were decorated with terra-cotta statues (i.e. Apollo) and sculptures on top.
- It’s proportion was bigger and squattier.
- This temple had 3 cella for 3 gods.
What can we learn from the etruscan tombs?
The Etruscan tombs were made to give the deceased the best and most comfortable afterlife they could have (similar to Egyptians). They had pillows carved out of stone and other everyday materials to aid them in the afterlife. The reliefs were more home our house like, like a building. The vividly-painted frescoes were to show what they could do for eternity. They were filled with leisure activities. Each individual’s would be different because each person thought of eternity as something different.
What is the importance of Etruscan bronzes? What do they tell us about their society?
Developed a special sophistication in casting/engraving on bronze, many of which were for domestic use (i.e. Ficoroni Cista); they were a wealthy society
How does the art of the Etruscans change with the annexation and conquest of the Etruscan city-states?
Made it hard to distinguish between Etruscan and early Roman art because Etruscan bronze artists went to work for Roman patrons (i.e. head of a man - Brutus)
Etruria
Etruscans gained control of the north and much of today’s central Italy, known as Etruria
Rasenna
what the Etruscans refer to themselves as
Necropolis
a large cemetery or burial area; literally a “city of the dead”
tumulus tombs
large, rounded tombs
Vanths
female demons
Haruspex
a person trained to practice a form of divination called haruspicy, which is basically inspecting the organs of sacrificed animals, specifically the liver, to read “omens”
Terracotta
fired clay
waddle and daub
a wall construction method combining upright branches, woven with twigs (wattle) and plastered ofr filled with clay or mud (daub)
Repousse
a technique of pushing or hammering metal from the back to create a protruding image. elaborate reliefs are created by pressing or hammering metal sheets against carved wooden forms.
Fibula Apollo/Apulu of Veii
Tomb of Hunting and Fishing
Tomb of the Reliefs
Sarcophagus with reclining figures
Sarcophagus of Lars Pulena
