Temple of Minerva (Veii, near Rome, Italy) and sculpture of Apollo. Master sculptor Vulca. c. 510–500 B.C.E.
Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa (volcanic rock); terra cotta sculpture.
The Temple of Minerva was a colorful and ornate structure, typically had stone foundations but its wood, mud-brick and terracotta superstructure suffered far more from exposure to the elements. Apollo Master sculpture was a completely Etruscan innovation to use sculpture in this way, placed at the peak of the temple roof—creating what must have been an impressive tableau against the backdrop of the sky.
Vocabulary
Terra cotta - a hard ceramic clay used for building or for making pottery
Tufa - a porous rock similar to limestone
Tuscan order - an order of ancient architecture featuring slender, smooth columns that sit on simple bases; no carvings on the frieze or in the capitals
Temple of Minerva (Portonaccio Temple)
Completely Identify:
Artist Unknown
15th-16th century
Tufa, terra cotta
Etruscan
Assisi, Central Italy
Form:
Doric columns
The temple itself is completely dilapidated, only the model and the floor plan remain accurate and interpretable information
Original etruscan temples had stone foundations (longer lasting) and wood, mud brick, or terracotta superstructures that were brightly colored
Most etruscan temples no longer exist today because of the fragility of the materials they were made of
Divided into two parts
Deep front porch with widely-spaced Tuscan columns
Back portion divided into three separate rooms
Triple cella → see content for more information
High podium and frontal entrance → different from Greek temples
Made of wood (all Etruscan temples were)
NOT** made from stone (unlike Greek temples)
Function:
Was dedicated to the goddess Minerva (Athena)
Demonstrates an Etruscan assimilation of Greek gods
Etruscan versions of Greek gods/goddesses would take on different names
Values of the gods/goddesses would occasionally be adjusted slightly to fit more with Etruscan values/beliefs
Happened when the Etruscans assimilated with the Greeks after a victory against the Persians
Content:
Long enduring tufa-block foundations provide the only remaining context for the location, function, and structure of this temple
Square footprint is reminiscent of Vitruvius’s description of a floor plan with proportions that are 5:6 (deeper than it is wide)
Three-room configuration ("triple cella")
Reflects strategic planning to indicate a possible divine trio (Menrva, Tinia, Uni)
Temple contained masks, antefixes, decorative details
Terra cotta figures were originally placed on the ridge of the temple's roof (see statue of Apollo!)
Set up as a tableau, creating a horizontal register that can be viewed from far away
Context:
How do art historians know what Etruscan temples looked like?
Documented in Vitruvius’ book De Architectura in the late first century B.C.E., in which he documented key elements of Etruscan temples
Inspired Renaissance architects with the use of ‘Tuscan’ columns
Worship of Etruscan Gods and Goddesses originally happened out in nature with ritual spaces, but contact with Greek culture eventually lead to the creation of Etruscan temples
Etruscan temples were generally located in ritualistically sanctified groves open to the sky
Location: Veii near Rome, Italy
18 kilometers north
Date: 15th-16th century (dated by knowledge of the floor plan)
Themes:
Sacred spaces
Connection to the divine
Depictions of the human body
Cultural assimilation
Cross-Cultural Connections:
Chavín de Huantar
Yaxchilán lintel 25, structure 23
Templo Mayor
Great Mosque of Djenne
Sculpture of Apollo (Aplu, or Apollo of Veii)
Completely Identify:
Artist Unknown
510-500 B.C.E.
Painted terra cotta
Etruscan
From the roof of the Portonaccio Temple, Veii, Italy
Form:
5 feet 11 inches tall
Painted terracotta
Skin, clothes, and support painted in vibrant, contrasting colors to accommodate viewing from far away and in direct, harsh sunlight
Frozen in motion; taking a stride (Contrapposto)
Right arm extended, both hands broken off (right at the wrist, left at the beginning of the forearm)
Non-naturalistic depiction of the body, idealism common in depictions of both gods and humans
Drapery displays and conceals certain parts of the body (beginnings of the “wet clothing technique”)
Creation of shadows to create depth and realism
Outlining of limbs to emphasize motion
Archaic smile, but definite gaze at someone/something in the distance
Hair is knotted and twisted into knobs
Similar to the Kouroi statues of the archaic period
Part the sculptural program of the temple of Minerva, and was placed on the peak of the temple’s roof
Function:
Placed at the peak of the temple’s roof
On display for all to see from any distance
Might have been part of a larger telling of a myth or legend shown with other terracotta sculptures of gods on the roof
This statue of the Etruscan interpretation of Apollo was likely a central figure in this narrative
A statue of Hercules (or Hercle to the Etruscans) was also found at the site
Struggled in a contest for the Gold Hind, a deer sacred to his sister Artemis
Other figures found on the roof seem to be spectators or an audience watching the scene happen
The Etruscans were the first to introduce the idea of tableaus on a temple’s roof
Creates a dramatic scene with the sky as the backdrop
Viewable/distinguishable from very far away, which is needed when considering the scale of the temples being built at this time
Content:
Depicts the Etruscan interpretation of the Greek god Apollo (not original Greek style)
Headdress, donned in drapery lined with gold
Folded in looplets
Broad shoulders, defined abdomen, prominent facial features
Dark skin (stylistic)
Idealized figure represents greek celebration of the human form
Attached to an intricately carved pillar/support
Holds the statue upright and compensates for its weight
Facing Herakles in opposition, part of the supposed narrative being displayed (see function for more information about the myth this part of the program might represent)
Part of a narrative: the counterpart (no longer intact) was Heracles battling the Gold Hind of Diana
Context:
Location: Veii near Rome, Italy
Roof of Portonaccio temple
Date: c. 510-500 B.C.E.
Possibly sculpted by Vulca, an Etruscan artist from the city of Veii
Associated with the workshop that produced this sculpture
Worked for the last of the Roman kings, Tarquinius
Pliny, a Roman writer in the 6th century B.C.E., recorded Vulca’s summoning from Veii to Rome to decorate the most important temple there at the time, the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
Highly prestigious and famous for the amount of skill needed to produce such large terracotta sculptures
Date: c. 510-500 B.C.E.
Similar time frame and use of techniques/motion as Sarcophagus of the Spouses
Themes:
Myth/narrative art
The human body
Ritual objects of belief
Divinity
War and violence
Cross-Cultural Connections:
Ikenga (shrine figure)
Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife (Opo Ogoga)
King Menkaure and his Queen
