Painted Plaque

Wealthy Etruscans, like some of their Greek counterparts, covered the walls of their underground tombs with painted images of myths, banquets, and processions. These two painted plaques, or pinakes, feature a double flutist and a lyrist, a typical Etruscan duet. The similar scale of the plaques, their matching borders, and the unity of their subject matter indicate that they were part of the decoration of a small burial chamber. The festive procession of musicians that covered the walls would have mirrored the actual performances that took place when family members' bodies were deposited in the tomb.Greek influence on Etruscan art is apparent in the stylistic development demonstrated by the two figures. The male flutist is slightly smaller, and his stance is unnaturally rigid, with both feet planted on the ground; his flute extends in front of him, above an elongated olive tree, in a static composition characteristic of late Archaic Greek art. The female lyrist, in contrast, is more naturalistic; she actively moves across the panel with the heel of her rear foot slightly raised, her lyre overlaps with the top border, and her costume flies behind her. This attempt at increased naturalism follows in the footsteps of the artistic experimentation in Greek art that ushered in the Classical style soon after the turn of the fifth century B.C. Etruscan painted plaques are so rare, with roughly a dozen remaining, that the authenticity of these pinakes has been called into question. Recent scientific testing indicates that the panels are ancient, confirming their importance as one of the best surviving traces of monumental painting at this transitional period in the history of art.