1990/01/01 by Peter J. Holliday
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History #Classical Antiquity Studies #Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
paper · doi:10.2307/505526
This article investigates the theme of the procession of the magistrate on his journey to the Underworld in Etruscan funerary art. A number of sculpted and painted examples are collected and examined. It is shown that although the Etruscan monuments reflect the stylistic developments of contemporary Greek art, the iconography and compositional models are an Italian development and are not dependent on such outside influences. The imagery of the procession exalts the deceased who served as a magistrate in his city; the evolution of that iconography also reflects the changing political situation in Italy as Rome grew in power. The importance of the positioning and attributes of the deceased magistrate, and the interest in indicating his role, are fundamental to the development of Roman processional imagery.