Etruscan and Early Roman Republic A rt Lecture

1. Etruscan and Early Roman Republic Art Lecture

7. Culture? Mode? Medium?

8. Culture? Mode? Style?

9. Culture? Mode? Medium? Use?

10. Culture? Mode? Medium? Who is this guy?

11. Unknown origin • They had a distinct language • They settled in central Italy • Identifiable from about 800 BCE- 500 BCE • Roughly corresponds to the Archaic era of Greek Art • Rome was founded on the fringes of the Etruscan lands Who were the Etruscans?

12. Constructed not of stone, but of wood and sun-dried brick decorated with terra cotta Only one entrance- narrow stair case. Front of temple sat on high podium Not meant to be seen from all sides like the Greek temple. It was meant to serves as the house for the statues of the gods. Columns were only on the front of the building- the porch Tuscan columns resembled Doric columns Columns were much wider apart than Greek columns Etruscan temples had 3 cellas (interior sacred chambers) as opposed the Greeks who had just one. No pedimental sculpture. Narrative statues were placed on the roof. They were made of terra cotta not stone

13. -Best preserved example found to date of Etruscan temple statuary Would have been placed on a rooftop -Evidence of Grecian influence-Archaic smile -Made out of terra cotta -Would have been brightly painted -In contrast to the Grecian influence, this statue is fully clothed. Name Apulu(Apollo)Culture EtruscanDate 500 BCE

14. Necropoli… (Necro=dead; Polis=city) • Etruscan tombs took the form of mounds or tumulus • Each tumulus covered one or more subterranean multichambered tomb cut directly out of the limestone • Were arranged in cemeteries in an orderly fashion along a network of streets • Were built outside of the cities

15. Necropolis Interior • Resembled the houses of the living • Axial design • Note the difference with the Greeks- • Greeks built stone temples for the gods but no monumental tombs. The Etruscans built massive stone cut tombs but only wood/terra cotta temples • This tomb (the Tomb of the Reliefs) was built to house several generations of one family • Brightly painted.

16. Made out of terra cotta- Greeks used Terra cotta, but it was favored by the Etruscans Cast in four sections and then joined. Greeks had no monumental tombs Legs are less rendered- the focus is on the upper body -Shows that the Etruscans embraced death and saw it as something to celebrate-couple's hands are outstretched -The figures are very relaxed compared to the rigid Egyptian style of sculpture. -Women were seen as equals in Etruscan culture unlike the Greek and Roman cultures. -The couch on which they are reclining influenced the Roman couch in the future. -The gestures made by the hands show an influence in how Italians today communicate with their hands as they speak. Name Sarcophagus w/reclining couple from the CerveterinecroploisCulture EtruscanDate 500 BCE

17. What is the difference?

18. Do you see the influence?Do you see the difference?

19. Painting in tomb Tombs paintings were rare- only for the wealthiest Etruscans. Named for the leopards that guard the tomb from their pedimental perch. Exaggerated hand gestures, enlarged hands -banqueting couples relax while eating -ancient convention of men painted darker then women -Trees spring up between the main figures, perhaps suggesting a rural scene -perhaps a funeral banquet but emotions seem celebratory Name Tomb of the LeopardsCulture Etruscan Date 500 BCE

22. -Etruscans loved working in bronze This statue is somewhat larger than life Hollow cast bronze -The Romans borrowed this Etruscan tale to explain their beginnings: The wolf raises two infants (the founders of Rome) when their mother abandoned them. -The two children were added by an Italian sculptor later. -Very naturalistic with a sense of abstraction in the geometric mane of the wolf Tense powerful legs Captures the intensity of the wolf’s gaze and growl Name Capitoline WolfCulture EtruscanDate 500 BCE

23. Rome is the bridge between the Ancient the medieval/modern world Rome gave us our government, arts, political structure, language, calendar, monetary systems, architectural style, educational systems, religious traditions, and oh so many other things... Why is Rome Important?

24. Rome began as an Etruscan city In the 4th century, Romans began to conquer Etruscan territories. Etruria was conquered by Rome in the 3rd century BC. According to tradition and later writers the Roman Republic was established around 509 BCE, when the last of the seven Etruscan kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed by LuciusJunius Brutus, and a system based on annually elected magistrates and various representative assemblies was established. A constitution set a series of checks and balances, and a separation of powers. The most important magistrates were the two consuls, who together exercised executive authority as imperium, or military command. The consuls had to work with the senate, which was initially an advisory council of the ranking nobility, or patricians, but grew in size and power Now we get to Rome

25. In 211 BCE, Marcellus conquered the Greek city of Syracuse and brought back not only the normal spoils of war (gold, weapons, etc) but ART. This began the Roman appetite for Greek art. The Romans however, never forgot their Etruscan roots and merged the two styles into a distinctive Roman style.

28. -Veristic- or superrealism -Sculptures were mostly men of high standing in the community -They loved to show off their heritage. (slaves and lower class people could not possess such images) -Each bust was completed in an individual likeness. -Very accurate and naturalistic -Shows wisdom and a serious individual -It was very popular to have busts of one’s ancestors/heroes around the house Name Head of Roman PatricianCulture RomanDate 75 BCE

31. Concrete is THE Roman inovation- it is their contribution to the world. Without concrete, the Romans would not have been able to create the monuments that they did! Some of the Roman Innovations that came from Concrete: Barrel Vault Groin Vault Fenestrated Sequence Hemispherical dome

32. Concrete is not the same as cement The most important use of cement is the production of mortar and concrete—the bonding of natural or artificial aggregates to form a strong building material that is durable in the face of normal environmental effects. Concrete should not be confused with cement, because the term cement refers to the material used to bind the aggregate materials of concrete. Concrete is a combination of a cement and aggregate. Oh…P.S…

33. -Etruscan influence: can only enter the building from the front -Raised on a platform -Porch -Grecian influence: stucco is used to cover the underlying stone to imitate marble -Greek: Ionic Order Greek- the attempt to imitate the peripteral nature of the Greek Temples (look at the back) -With the combination of both civilizations, the Romans now had their own style in architecture. Name Temple of Fortuna VirilisCulture RomanDate 75 BCE

35. Greek: Tholos temple and Corinthian Order (tholos unknown to the Etruscans) -Etruscan: Axial design- steps to enter the temple are only in the front (Greek temples have steps all the way around) -Roman: a new material was used with this temple in addition to cut stone. The new material-slow drying concrete-was a Roman invention. -Important to note how the Romans adopt both traditions, Greek and Etruscan Name Temple of Vesta(sibyl)Culture Roman Date Early 1st Century BCE

36. The Roman house was more than a place to live. It played an important role in Roman societal rituals. They were places to receive guests and conduct buisness They were designed to shut out the noise/dirt of the outside world They grew out of Etruscan designs. Axial design Much of what we know about Roman houses come to us from Pompeii Roman houses in Rome itself were different. Most people would have lived in Multistoried apartments.

37. Vestibule (entrance) Atrium (central reception area) Impluvium-(caught rain water) Cubiculum (bedrooms) Tablinium (home office) Triclinium (dining room) Peristyle garden area Typical Roman house

38. -Large area called the atrium is open to the sky and has a large basin called an Impluvium in the center -Peristyle garden in the rear with fountain, private area of the house -Axial symmetry a person who enters the house can see all the way through it to the garden -Exterior of the house lacks windows, light comes from the interior Name House of the Vettii, from PompeiiCulture Roman Date 2nd Century BCE

39. Impluvium

40. The frescoes come from Pompeii The wall painting styles have allowed art historians to delineate the various phases of interior decoration in the centuries leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, which both destroyed the city and preserved the paintings, and between stylistic shifts in Roman art. The paintings also tell a great deal about the prosperity of the area and specific tastes during the times. The main purpose of these frescoes was to reduce the claustrophobic interiors of Roman rooms, which were windowless and dark. The paintings, full of color and life, brightened up the interior and made the room feel more spacious. Roman Frescos/ Murals

41. The First style, also referred to as structural, incrustation or masonry style, was most popular from 200 BCE until 80 BCE. This style was a replica of that found in the Ptolemaic palaces of the near east, where the walls were inset with real stones and marbles, and also reflects the spread of Hellenistic culture as Rome interacted and conquered other Greek and Hellenistic states in this period. This trompe l'oeil effect created flat areas of color and 'faux" finishes (like a fake marble or oak finish) This style divided the wall into various, multi-colored patterns that took the place of extremely expensive cut stone. The First Style was also used with other styles for decorating the lower sections of walls that were not seen as much as the higher levels. 1st style of Roman wall paintingRoman1st Century CE

43. The Second style, architectural style, or 'illusionism' dominated the 1st century BCE, where walls were decorated with architectural features and trompe l'oeil (trick of the eye) compositions. It is characterized by use of relative perspective (not precise linear perspective) Images and landscapes began to be introduced to the first style around 90 BCE, and gained ground from 70 BCE onwards, along with illusionistic and architectonic motifs. Decoration had to give the greatest possible impression of depth. Imitations of images appeared, at first in the higher section, then (after 50 BCE) in the background of landscapes which provided a stage for mythological stories, theatrical masks, or decorations. Much of the depth of the mature Second Style comes from the use of aerial (atmospheric) perspective that blurred the appearance of objects further away. Thus, the foreground is rather precise while the background is somewhat indistinctly purple, blue, and gray. Fashionable particularly from the 40s BCE onwards, it began to wane in the final decades BCE. 2nd Style

44. -Second Style -Uses the famous Pompeii red -This represents a religious movement occurring throughout the women in Pompeii where they were married to Bacchus. -Illusion that the image is moving towards more depth in the painting, with the ledge extending back into the wall Name Initiation rites of the Cult of Bacchus,at the Villa of the MysteriesCulture RomanDate 75 CE

50. -Tradition to have a wedding portrait painted -The man and woman appear to be intelligent and well-educated with their scroll and stylus; however, many of these people had these paintings done, even though they were completely uneducated. -Often the clothing they were painted in was borrowed or rented to make them look wealthier than they were. -Realistic painting Young couple- Scraggly beard - Note the coloring of the man vs. the woman. Name Portrait of Husband and wifeCulture RomanDate 75 CE