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The Etruscans
Early Etruscan Art
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Concept Version 7
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Etruscan Sculpture

Archaic Etruscan art often includes terra cotta statues that are stylistically and aesthetically Etruscan but influenced by Greek art.

Learning Objective

  • Describe the stylisic influences on Etruscan sculpture during the Archaic period.


Key Points

    • During the Archaic period (600-480 BCE), the Etruscans began building large wood and terra cotta temples, creating underground burial chambers, and producing large-scale stone and terra cotta sculptures.
    • Stylistic influences from the Greeks in Etruscan Archaic sculpture include the Archaic smile and the stylized patterning of hair and clothing. However, Etruscan sculpture was distinct. The figures had egg shaped heads and almond eyes, were clothed, and their bodies had a higher degree of plasticity.
    • The Centaur of Vulci is a subtractive sculpture straddling the Orientalizing and Archaic periods. It uses some Greek attributes but modifies them in a way to make the object uniquely Etruscan.The Apulu of Veii is an example of Etruscan Archaic sculpture. The figure, believed to have been made by the Etruscan artist Vulca from Veii, depicts Apulu in mid-stride, with an outstretched arm. The figure is more dynamic than Greek archaic examples.
    • The Sarcophagus of the Spouses depicts a couple reclining together on a dining couch. The figures are distinctly Etruscan, animated through their gestures, with faces made from the same mold and distinguished by feminine or masculine characteristics.

Terms

  • terra cotta

    Earthenware clay after it has been fired in a kiln.

  • additive

    A sculptural process in which the artist begins with little to no material and gradually attaches more material until the desired form is achieved.

  • subtractive

    A sculptural process in which the artist begins with more material than s/he needs and gradually takes away material until the desired form is achieved.

  • akroteria

    Architectural ornaments placed on a flat base and mounted at the apex of the pediment of a building in the classical style.

  • Archaic smile

    A technique used by Greek Archaic sculptors, especially in the second quarter of the 6th century BCE, possibly to suggest that their subject was alive and infused with a sense of well-being.

  • sarcophagus

    A stone coffin, often inscribed or decorated with sculpture.


Full Text

During the Archaic period (600-480 BCE), the Etruscan culture flourished. The Etruscans began building stone and wood temples and creating subterranean tombs. Etruscan trade flourished, and the civilization expanded to its furthest boundaries. The period and style of art is named for its Greek counterpart. Although there are similarities between Etruscan and Greek Archaic art, significant differences mark specific sculptures as uniquely Etruscan.

The Centaur of Vulci

The area of Italy that was home to the etruscan civilization is rich in volcanic rocks such as tufa and nenfro. Such materials provided ample media for sculptures produced through subtractive processes like carving and chiseling. The Centaur of Vulci (c. 590-580 BCE), a nenfro statue discovered in a tomb in the necropolis of Poggio Maremma in Vulci Archaeological Park, appears to mark a transition between the Orientalizing and Archaic styles. Similar to Greek centaur sculptures of this period, the body appears to have depicted a standing human with a stylized cylindrical equine body emerging from the back. Unlike Greek Orientalizing and Archaic centaurs, however, this sculpture was produced without a tail. Its arms and legs below the knees are missing. Its hands are visible on the hips, suggesting a stiff pose like early Greek kouroi. Its eyes are large and almond-shaped, and it might have worn an Archaic smile before it was damaged. The centaur's hair falls in stylized plaits like its Greek counterparts. The style of braids, however, appears less like beads, as seen in the Greek kouros, and more like twisted plies of a rope. On the back of the centaur's head, three braids and several ringlets run in a horizontal pattern to connect with the braids on the left and right. Evidence of drill work can be seen in the curls that fall across the centaur's forehead.

Centaur of Vulci

Nenfro. Poggio Maremma in Vulci Archaeological Park.  590-580 BCE.

Terra Cotta

Few examples of large-scale or monumental Etruscan sculptures survive. Very few Etruscan bronzes escaped being melted down for reuse, and the Etruscans did not often work in marble or other hard stones. Instead, many surviving examples of Etruscan sculpture are in terra cotta, or earthenware clay that has been fired in a kiln. Working with terra cotta was a means of additive sculpture. Unlike subtractive sculptural techniques employed in the carving of rock or stone, this allowed for subtle modeling and more expressive and dynamic features.

A pair of winged horses from the Altar of the Queen, an Etruscan sanctuary located in Tarquinia, are examples of Etruscan skill and modeling with terra cotta. The horses are muscular, with strong chests, fine legs, and elongated bodies. They appear to prance as they wait to pull a chariot. Their necks arch, with manes blowing in the wind, and their heads are drawn in, as if pulled back by a pair of unseen reins.

Winged Horses

Painted terra cotta. c. 6th century BCE. Tarquinia, Italy.

Apulu of Veii

The Apulu of Veii is a prime example of Etruscan sculpture during the Archaic period. Apulu, the Etruscan equivalent of Apollo, is a slightly larger than life-size terra cotta akroteria figure the Portonaccio Temple at Veii, an Etruscan city just north of Rome. The figure was part of a group of akroteria that stood on the ridgepole of the temple and depicted the myth of Heracles and the Ceryneaian hind. The figure of Apulu confronts the hero, Heracles, who is attempting to capture a deer sacred to Apulu's sister, Artumes (Artemis). Of the akroteria figures from this temple, Apulu is the most intact surviving statue.

The figure of Apulu has several Greek characteristics. The face is similar to the faces of Archaic Greek kouroi figures. The face is simply carved and an archaic smile provides a notion of emotion and realism. The hair of Apulu is stylized and falls across his shoulders and down his neck and back in stylized, geometric twists that seem to represent braids. The figure, like Greek figures, was painted in bright colors, and the edge of his toga appears to be lined in blue.

Apulu of Veii

Painted terra cotta. c. 510-500 BCE. Portonaccio Temple, Veii, Italy.

Unlike Archaic Greek statues and kouroi, the figure of Apulu is full of movement and presents the viewer with an entirely different aesthetic from the Greek style. The figure of Apulu is dynamic and flexible. He strides forward with an arm stretched out. He leans on his front foot, and his back foot is slightly raised. The body is more faithfully modeled (comparable to later Greek kouroi), and instead of being nude, he wears a toga that is draped over one shoulder. The garment's folds are patterned and stylized but cling to the body, allowing the viewer to clearly distinguish the god's chest and thigh muscles. While the Etruscan artist applied an Archaic smile to Apulu, the figure's lips are full and his head is more egg-shaped than round -- both characteristics of Etruscan art and sculpture.

The Apulu of Veii is believed to have been made by the Etruscan artist Vulca of Veii. Besides this sculpture, Vulca is credited by Roman historians with the creation of the cult statue for the Temple of Jupiter Optiumus Maximus, the most important temple in Rome. Vulca created this statue when the last Etruscan king Tarquinius Superbus ruled Rome.

The Sarcophagus of the Spouses

A late sixth century sarcophagus excavated from a tomb in Cerveteri is a terra cotta sarcophagus depicting a couple reclining together on a dining couch. The sarcophagus displays not only the Etruscan Archaic style but also Etruscan skill in working with terra cotta. The figures' torsos are modeled, and their heads are in a typical Etruscan egg-shape with almond shaped eyes, long noses, and full lips. Their hair is stylized, and their gestures are animated. The use of gesture is seen throughout Etruscan art, both in sculpture and painting. The woman might have originally held a small vessel, and the couple appears to be intimate and loving due to the fact that man has his arm around the woman.

Sarcophagus of the Spouses

Painted terra cotta. C. 520 BCE. Banditaccia Necropolis, Cerveteri, Italy.

A close look at the figures reveals some peculiarities. First, their faces are the same and in fact were most likely created from the same mold, a technique common in Etruscan terra cotta sculpture. The identical faces are differentiated by the addition of female and male hairstyles, including the man's beard. Furthermore, despite the modeling of their upper bodies, the legs of the figures are flat and rather lifeless, an odd comparison to the liveliness of the figures' upper halves.

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