Animus Classics Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1

30.Carpino,
1007.
31.Brendel,
Etruscanart,
103.
32.Carpino,
1008.
33.Brendel,
3.
ancientGreekcontemporaries,whofocusedonportrayingthe
whole human body. 30 Highlighting physical differences
distinguishestheEtruscansasthefirstpeopletomake“the
transitionfromgenerictospecificrepresentations”intheir
portraiture,aimingtoproducetheserepresentationsbecause
theywere“essential”inaccuratelyportrayinghumans. 31 Brendel
alsoarguedthatEtruscansculptorscreatedthefirstportraits
foundinwesternart(87).DespitetheEtruscans’numerous
original achievements in the foundation of sculpture and
representation,theystillhaveyettoreceivewiderecognitionin
the study of portraiture, which is often viewed as a
Greco-Roman field of art. The transition to specific
representations of physical characteristics and age in
portraitureissignificantandisatechniqueinportraitureart
thatisstillusedtoday.Despitethis,theEtruscanscontinueto
beerasedinthehistoryofportraituresincetheirachievements,
whileimportantininfluencingtheirsuccessors’artwork,arestill
notwidelycredited.
The Etruscans also contributed widely to ancient funerary
portraiture.Thisisbecausetheearliestportraituretraditionlay
intheirabilitytocreateuniquefuneraryportraitureinthe7th
centuryB.C.E,mainlyatChiusi.Duringthisperiod,Etruscan
artistssculptedportraitsonbronzeandterracottacinerary
urns,whoselidstooktheformofahumanhead(seeFigure7).
Due to the Etruscan tradition of making specific
representationsintheirportraiture,thesefuneraryvesselswere
stylized to convey the personalities, characteristics, and
physicaltraitsofthedead. 32 InotherEtruscancities,artisans
usedstone,bronze,andterracottatocreatestatuesthatthey
placedinsidetombsforthedead.Namely,thewomenandmen
depictedinsidethePietreraTombwereintricatelydecorated
withnecklacesandhairstyles,suggestingthattheartistwished
toconveythatthosedeceasedindividualswerepartofthe
aristocracy. 33 Similarly,theEtruscanscreatedstatuesofwomen
(SeeFigures8and11),men(SeeFigure7),andcouples(See
Figure10)whichwerefoundoncineraryurnsandsarcophagi
during the Classical and Hellenistic periods.These statues,
according to Brendel, “support the claim that a genuine
conceptofportraiture,equaltothemodern,materializedin
Etruscanartforthefirsttimeinhistory”andconfirmthelong
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historyandtraditionofEtruscanmemorialportraiture(392-3).
Furthermore,theEtruscansalsocreatedportraituretohonor
theirgodsandgoddessesandmayhavemaderevolutionary
stridesinthedepictionofthedivineinarthistory.Forexample,
thereexistsabronzebustofafemalefigureinthe“Isis”Tombat
Vulci,whichisa“possibleportrait”ofIsis(SeeFigure11). 34
Brendelarguesthatthefigurecouldhavebeenaportraitofan
individual,whosecharacteristicsdeviatefromthatofahuman
(104-105).Ontheotherhand,SybilleHaynesassertsthatthe
bronzebustisindeedagoddess,arguingthatitis“oneofthe
oldestsurvivingcultimagesofagoddess”(155).Whilethereis
clearroomforthisbust’sinterpretation,thereisalackof
discussioninmodernacademiasurroundingthepossibilitythat
theEtruscanswerethefirsttocreatecultimagesofagoddess.
Again,weseeherethattheEtruscans’innovations,beittheir
extraordinary ability to personalize their dead within
portraitureortheirpotentialcontributionstothefoundationof
cult images, are overlooked, ignored, and erased when
examiningancientMediterraneanportraiture.
Aswehaveseen,theEtruscansstillhaveyettobecreditedin
modernwesternMediterraneanscholarshipasthefoundersof
landscape painting in ancient Italy, and their extensive
portraiture and distinctive focus on emphasizing specific
physicalattributesinhumanportraitureareovershadowedby
scholars’ characterization of portraiture as a distinctly
Greco-Romaninvention.Theabsenceofrecognitionofthe
Etruscansastheinnovatorsoflandscapepaintingsinancient
Italy,aswellasignoringtheiruniqueportraiture,contributesto
thecontinuederasureofEtruscansbyGreco-Romanscholars,
whooftenaccusethe“mysterious”Etruscansofcopyingfrom
neighboringancientgroups. 35 Whiletherearefewsurviving
writtenrecordsoftheEtruscancivilization,thelegacyofthe
Etruscansishardlymysteriousorconcealedatall.Indeed,their
enormouscollectionofpaintedsarcophagiisatestamentto
Etruscangrandeurandprovidesevidenceofthenumerousways
inwhichEtruscanartinfluencedtheGreeksandRomans.Yet,
sincearthistoryoftheancientwesternMediterraneanhasbeen
told largely through a predominantly Greco-Roman
perspective,thisbegsthequestionofwhetherthecurrent
understandingofancientwesternMediterraneanartiseven
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34.Carpino,
1010.
35.Smith,1.