Etruscan art was produced by the Etruscan civilization in central Italy between the 10th and 1st centuries BC. From around 750 BC it was heavily influenced by imported Greek art, but it always retained distinct characteristics.
Why does most surviving Etruscan art come from tombs?
The great majority of Etruscan art survivals came from tombs, which were typically crammed with sarcophagi and grave goods. Because Etruscan tombs housed whole lineages and hosted recurrent family rituals, what survives is dominated by religion and the funerary cult.
What materials were Etruscan artists best known for working in?
Etruscan artists were especially strong in figurative terracotta sculpture, wall painting, and bronze metalworking. They produced very little sculpture in stone, despite controlling fine marble sources including Carrara, which seems not to have been exploited until the Romans.
Where are Etruscan wall paintings found and when did they peak?
Surviving Etruscan wall paintings are almost all tomb frescoes, mainly located in Tarquinia, dating from roughly 670 BC to 200 BC. Their peak of production fell between about 520 and 440 BC.
What is Etruscan bucchero ware?
Bucchero ware was the early and native style of fine Etruscan pottery, burnished, unglazed, and rendered black in a reducing kiln deprived of oxygen. It was an Etruscan development based on pottery techniques of the Villanovan period and was often decorated with white lines.
What are famous examples of Etruscan bronze and sculpture?
Famous Etruscan works include the painted terracotta Apollo of Veii from 510 to 500 BC, the Sarcophagus of the Spouses from the late 6th century BC, the bronze Chimera of Arezzo dated 400 BC, and the Mars of Todi, also from 400 BC. The Monteleone chariot is one of the finest and most complete examples of large bronzework.
How did the Etruscans influence Roman funerary art?
The Etruscans invented the custom of placing reclining figures on sarcophagus lids, which later influenced the Romans to do the same. They decorated terracotta sarcophagi with an image of the deceased reclining on the lid, alone or sometimes with a spouse.