Etruscan Sculpture of Man & Woman
Reclining (c.520 BCE)

Etruscan Art (c.700-90 BCE)

The Etruscans were a people who lived in Etruria in Italy during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Etruscan culture and civilization reached its peak during the sixth century BCE when their city-states controlled central Italy. Etruscan arts were strongly influenced by their trading relationship with Greece, although (like the Egyptians but unlike the Greeks) they believed in an after-life. This led to the employment of many Etruscan painters and sculptors by the nobility who commissioned tomb paintings (eg. "Tomb of the Leopards" c.480 BCE) and sometimes an ornate sarcophagus (eg. "Sarcophagus dei Sposi" c.550 BCE) to celebrate their passage into the after-life.

Etruscan Bronze Chariot, Inlaid with
Ivory (6th Century BCE)

Etruscans were also noted for their figurative sculpture made from stone, terracotta, such as the "Apollo of Velo" (c.500 BCE), as well as bronze sculpture like the "Capitoline Wolf" (c.500 BCE), "Chariot" (c.550-525 BCE) and the "Chimera of Arezzo" (c.450 BCE).

For rich Etruscans, art became a feature of every day life. Reconstruction of a seventh century Etruscan villa, in Murlo, revealed large painted terracotta panels adorning the entrances, as well as a number of fresco wall-paintings. Etruscan paintings and murals often convey a clear sense of joi de vivre, in the form of dancing couples or other human figures looking strong and healthy and full of life. In this sense, Etruscan art captured human emotion much better than the more stylized Greek art.

Etruria was also known for its goldsmiths: their artistry in gold being highly prized in Italy and Greece during the first millennium BCE. Examples include the significant cache of gold jewellery in the Regolini Galassi tomb, Cerveteri, which was unearthed in the nineteenth-century.

Sadly, from 396 BCE onwards, the Etruscan city states were overcome by Rome and absorbed into the Roman Empire. In the process, many Etruscan paintings and sculptures were destroyed and valuable bronzes melted down to make bronze coins, a common occurrence in the history of art of the time. And local art was subsumed into Roman art. As a result, the Etruscan artistic legacy is comparatively small. Collections can be seen at the National Etruscan Museum and the National Archaeological Museum of Florence.

• For other pre-historic civilizations, see: Ancient Art.
• For the main index, see: Irish Art: Guide to Visual Arts in Ireland

• How to Update This Mini Review of Etruscan Art