- Giovannangelo Camporeale –
masters who initiated the new formal language in Etruria were foreigners come from the
regions in which their styles were popular; it is probable that they passed through Rome
and from there arrived in Etruria. However, in the same years, vases from Rome (pocula
deorum) reached Etruria, as well as coins (series with device of ship’s prow) but it was the
masters especially who came and who worked on building the Roman (military) colonies
that were being founded, not to mention the coincidental appearance of subjects from the
Trojan and Theban mythological cycles in both archaic Latin tragedy and the decoration
of the aforementioned Etruscan urns.
In conclusion, it is possible to recall a few general points.
- This survey, far from being exhaustive, has only the scope of indicating some issues
relative to the opening up of Etruria to foreign fi gurative and cultural infl uences, and
to the mobility of foreign artists active in this region and to their integration into
local society. - Their activity, as proven, or reasonably well hypothesized, translates into prestigious
works, distinct from the products of local artisans and as a rule associated with rich
contexts: on the other hand, only the rich were able to adequately compensate hired
persons whose services would have cost more than those of natives. Therefore, a closer
tie was forged between (fi gurative) culture and the aristocratic class. - The role of foreign artists in Etruscan society is not easily defi ned. The scarcity of
signatures with complete name-formulae (praenomen, gentilicium, patronymic, verb
indicating exact professional activity) precludes defi nitive identifi cations. Thus,
their role was probably not much different from that of native artists. Certainly, it
is necessary to consider possible changes in status over time (Etruscan civilization
coincided with the entire fi rst millennium bc), in their environment, and in the type
of commission (public or private, monumental or smaller works). The masters in the
entourage of the rich merchant Demaratus in the seventh century bc retained their
original Greek names and thus were not fully integrated into Etruscan society as
was Demaratus. The master who instead has an Etruscan or Etruscanized praenomen
and a gentilicium – such as Arnth Praxias in the early fi fth century bc – is in effect an
Etruscan citizen, treated the same as the Faliscan Cavios Frenaios, active in the fourth
century bc. Exactly when such a changeover happened is hard to pinpoint. Certainly
it must have varied from case to case, considering how, in Vulci, approximately 50
years after Arnth Praxias, Metru met with quite a different treatment – a case similar
to that of the Etruscan Pheziu Paves who signed a red-fi gured cup in the environs of
Siena in the years 380–350 bc, if the text is to be interpreted, as proposed (Cristofani
1988, p. 329, n. 178, 1, with bibliography), “Pheziu of Pave.” - The homelands of the foreign artists in Etruria are for the most part those which
were sources for the valuable materials and manufactured goods they purveyed. The
initial contact was probably made by merchants, with artists arriving in a second
wave, after it was decided that Etruria could accommodate them. The tradition of
Demaratus can serve as an example of this. - The works of foreign masters, once their artistic superiority over natives was
acknowledged, primarily appealed to the taste of their targeted consumers and then
to other residents in the areas where they settled. - These works also impacted on the native culture. It is signifi cant that they made vases
designed for specifi c ceremonies, part of a precise ideology (one thinks of the symposium