Art History Quiz 2 - Etruscan Art

-Etruscans reached the height of their power in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE -- coinciding with the Archaic age in Greece
-there is a close relationship between Etruscan art forms and those of Greece

Sarcophagus, from Cerveteri, 520 BCE, ETRUSCAN
-Archaic period-molded in terra cotta-full-length sculptures of a man and woman -- presumably, a married couple-despite the constraints of the Archaic style, with its abstract forms and rigid poses, the soft material allows the sculptor to model rounded forms and capture the extraordinary directness and vivacity that are characteristic of Etruscan art-was once painted in bright colors

Sarcophagus lid of Larth Tetnies and Thanchvil Tarnai, 350-300 BCE, ETRUSCAN
-lid: carved a man and woman in a tender embrace, lying under a sheet as if in their marital bed-the hair and beard reflect Greek fashion and the sides of the chest feature battle scenes influenced by Greek iconography, yet the finished product is definitely Etruscan

Porta Marzia - in Perugia, Italy; 2nd century BCE; ETRUSCAN
-early example of a voussoir arch, built out of a series of truncated wedge-shaped stones called voussoirs - remarkably strong: any downward thrust from above merely strengthened their bond-above the arch, sculpted figures of Tinia (the Etruscan equivalent of Zeus or Jupiter) and his sons with their horses look out over a balustrade
-the arch is visual proof of the confluence of cultures so prevalent in the Mediterranean in the last centuries before the Common Era

Aule Meteli (L'Arringatore) [the Orator]; early 1st century BCE; ETRUSCAN
-life-size bronze sculpture of an orator-high boots mark the subject is Roman-the raised arm, a gesture that denotes both address and salutation, is common to hundreds of Roman statues-high quality of the casting and finishing of the bronze -- Etruscans were famous for their metalworking-may not have been accurate as to what this PARTICULAR man looked like, but it was accurate as to what he WOULD HAVE looked like