Etruscan Art

To understand how art has developed throughout the Roman Empire, one must first start with history. Before the Romans were in power, the Etruscans were the most advanced society within the Italian peninsula. Much of the Etruscan art is influenced by that of the Greeks but they did not copy the Greeks. The Etruscans used mud and wood to build their temples instead of stone like the Greeks. The temples also only had columns on the front of buildings instead of the periphery. Most of the Etruscan works that survived are from the underground tombs where they kept their sarcophagi. In these tombs, they created the interiors to reflect what their homes were like. Once the Romans conquered the area, Etruscan art died down significantly and Roman Republic