Transcript Document

THE ARCH OF CONSTANTINE
Constantine’s ‘Recycled’ Sculpture
Why?
• Lack of skilled artisans in Rome at the time
• Lack of time to complete the required reliefs
• Constantine’s desire to be identified with ‘good emperors’
YES COPY
THE
FOLLOWIN
G SLIDES
DIMENSIONS DETAILS
• Arch: height, 21m; width, 25.7m;
depth, 7.4m
Central archway: height, 11.5m; width,
6.5m
Side archways: height, 7.4m; width,
3.36m
• DATE: AD312-315
Inscription
The Inscription
“To the emperor Caesar Flavius Constantine Maximus,
Pius Felix Augustus, since through divine inspiration and great
wisdom
he has delivered the state from the tyrant and all his factions,
by his army and noble arms, the Senate and the Roman People,
dedicate this arch decorated with triumphal insignia.”
WE ARE GOING TO COMPLETE
A BRACE MAP FOR THE
FOLLOWING SLIDES
SUMMARY SENTENCES
5
KEYWORDS
ARCH OF
CONSTANTINE
5
KEYWORDS
5
KEYWORDS
5
KEYWORDS
BACKGROUND
• When Constantine killed Maxentius in the
battle of the Milvian Bridge, in 312 AD, he
marched triumphantly into Rome. After the
victory parade was over, Constantine
decided he wanted people to remember
this victory, and he put up a large stone
triumphal arch, like the Arch of Titus, or
the column of Trajan, to remind people
that he had won this important battle.
• The Arch of Constantine, though, is a
little different from the earlier
arches, because Constantine was
reminding people about a civil war, not
a war against foreign enemies. Titus
had conquered the Jewish revolt, and
Septimius Severus had conquered the
Germans, but Constantine had
conquered another Roman emperor.
• On top of the arch, Constantine had
an inscription carved that reminded
people of his victory. It's carefully
phrased, so that while it refers to
God, it doesn't specify which god - a
Roman god like Jupiter, or the
Christian God? In 312 AD,
Constantine was already a Christian,
but he wasn't ready to put it on a
public monument yet.
A FUNNY THING
• The Arch of Constantine is that a lot of the
other carvings, like the round ones that you can
see above the rectangular scenes, were taken
from other earlier monuments that showed
earlier emperors (mostly Hadrian and Marcus
Aurelius). Probably these were sculptures that
had been in storage, from monuments that had
been taken down for some reason. Why did
Constantine use these old carvings?
• Some people think that by 312 AD, it was
hard to find anyone in Rome who was a good
stone-carver, so Constantine had to use
the old carvings (he recut the heads to
look like him). Other people think
Constantine needed to save money. But it is
also possible that Constantine, as a
usurper, just wanted to make a connection
to earlier, more legitimate Roman
emperors.
• Unlike a lot of other Roman monuments,
this one is in pretty good shape. Because
Constantine was a Christian, the Popes
were interested in preserving this arch,
which shows the triumph of Christianity
over Roman religion. So they paid
workmen to take care of this arch, as
their inscriptions on the sides show.
The ‘Good Emperors’
TRAJAN
This is part of a
frieze from Trajan’s
campaigns against
the ______. The
Trajanic works all
came from Trajan’s
Forum.
Photo: http://sights.seindal.dk/
The ‘Good Emperors’
HADRIAN
This roundel
shows Hadrian on
a boar _____. The
head of the
Emperor has been
remodeled to look
like Constantine.
The ‘Good Emperors’
MARCUS
AURELIUS
These reliefs show
scenes from Marcus
Aurelius’ campigns
against _______ tribes.
The man standing on
the right is a Dacian
prisoner from Trajan’s
Forum.
Constantinian Works
CONSTANTINE
These reliefs are part of the ‘Constantinian Frieze’
that surrounds the arch completely. They show
Constantine giving out money and giving a speech.
Friezes lead up to victories.
Inscribtion that celebrates
Constantines 10th
anniversary A.D. 315 as
Emperor
ATTIC
Arch is dedicated to
Emperor
Constantine after
his victory over a
tyrant
8 Statues of
Dacian
captives
Roundrels. East
= Sun Rising
West = sun
setting.
8 Medallions
SPANDRELS
Victory &
River god
Relief
panels
3 Arches,
innovative
8 rectangular relief
• Around the lower part of the arch, just
over the side archways, Constantine put
pictures of the battle itself. You can see
the walls of Rome on the right.
Friezes lead up to victory
•Long narrow frieze under
medallions.
•About Constantines army
and his victory over
Maxintius.
•We see the emperor
addressing the people (oratio)
and giving gifts to the people
(donatio).
• Next, of course, comes the battle for the
Milvian Bridge, with soldiers drowning in the
water underneath.
Medallions
•Medallions stolen from monument built by the Emperor Hadrian.
•From the Imperial Hunt
•a wild boar hunt
•The offering of the lion skin to Hercules
• And on the back, Constantine showed himself
giving money to the poor (he's sitting in the
middle, and the poor are all in a row, lifting up
their arms). Notice the use of colored marble,
which is new - earlier arches were just white
travertine or marble.
• On the side, we see Constantine entering the city
of Rome in triumph after beating Maxentius. See
him in his chariot on the left? (The inscription
under it reminds us about a Pope who fixed up
the arch).
Relief panels from monument of Marcus
Aurelias
•Dacian captives
are foreign
•Wear trousers
•Have beards
•Bushy hair
style
•They came from
forum built by
Trajan 107-113
8 Rectangular
relief from
Emperor Marcus
aurelias.
These
commerate
campaigns
between
Germans and
Smartians
probably all came
from same
monumenttriumphal arch.
These heads
were replaced,
they were
reworked to look
like Emperor
Constantine.
Arch of Constantine
• Sections dated to the period of
Constantine:
– Spandrels
– Roundrels: personification of spread of
goodness
– Long narrow frieze
Arch of Constantine
• Cannibalised (taking things to pieces) bits:
– 4 Corinthian columns (detached)
– Inscription
– Statues and reliefs are relevant because they praise
previous emperors virtue and military power.
– Dacian Captives
– 4 Relief panels (in central arch and W & E tops) also
from monument from Trajan’s time. Originally it was one
long frieze about Trajan war and victory over Dacians.
They are carved ub kayers if different depth of relief to
give realistic perspective.
– 8 Rectangular Relief Panels.
• WHY CANNIBALISE?
– Nostalgia for imperial Rome’s Golden Age.