In many historical accounts, the Greeks were knnown for their panel painting, yet none of it survives. Some have hypothesized that Etruscan painting is a close aproximation to Greek painting. Discuss the eveidence for and against this based on what you ahve read in your text.

Question

Only in the last 10 years has Etruscan art been singled out in its own chapter, previously included within the Roman art chapter.  What would be the advantage of discussing Roman and Etruscan art side by side instead of in diferent chapters?  What are the advantages of dsicussing them as their own cultural identity?

Answer 1

Depending on how you look at Etruscan art, it could make understanding it much different. First of all, the Etruscans were conquered by the Romans, and therefore there art and culture many have been significantly influenced by the Roman culture. Which would make it ideal to put the Etruscans in a chapter with the Romans. However, analyzing Etruscan art and its own culture separately from Roman art allows us to get a deeper understanding from these people. Especially because there art and culture was significantly influenced by earlier civilizations such as Egypt and Greece. So in turn, if we look at Etruscan art separately, it will give us greater insight to how there history as an individual people developed, and then we can look at how the Romans conquering them, and Greece's past, has helped the Etruscan further develop as there own people.