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COURSES SPRING 2009

Histart 190B

ANCIENT ART: ETRUSCAN ITALY (4 units) Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-11 102 Moffitt, CCN: 05553 Lisa Pieraccini

The Etruscans, dismissed in the past as a marginal ancient culture and rarely studied in the most formidable universities today, were major contributors to what we consider to be great achievements of Western civilization, namely, architecture, engineering, religion and art. A wealthy and sophisticated people living in central Italy between the 8th and 2nd centuries BC, the Etruscans leave us much of their past by way of tombs, temples, habitation sites, and material culture. By the 7th century BC the Etruscans had created a broad network of commercial and artistic trade throughout the Mediterranean and were avid importers of Greek art. Their own artistic legacy lives on in their work in gold, wall paintings, vase paintings and terra-cotta and bronze sculpture. In fact, since their literature has not survived, it is from their art that we learn about their fascinating culture. This course will trace Etruscan civilization and art from its origins in the Villanovan Iron Age to the 2nd century BC when the Etruscans were subjugated and absorbed by the Romans. (An)

 

 

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