THE ARCH OF CONSTANTINE

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THE ARCH OF CONSTANTINE
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Constantines Recycled Sculpture

• Why?
• Lack of skilled artisans in Rome at the time
• Lack of time to complete the required reliefs
• Constantines desire to be identified with good
  emperors

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YES COPY THE FOLLOWING SLIDES
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DIMENSIONS DETAILS

• Arch height, 21m width, 25.7m depth,
  7.4mCentral archway height, 11.5m width,
  6.5mSide archways height, 7.4m width, 3.36m
• DATE AD312-315

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Inscription
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The Inscription
To the emperor Caesar Flavius Constantine
Maximus,Pius Felix Augustus, since through
divine inspiration and great wisdomhe 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.
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WE ARE GOING TO COMPLETE A BRACE MAP FOR THE
FOLLOWING SLIDES
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SUMMARY SENTENCES
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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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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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?

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• 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.

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• 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.

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The Good Emperors
TRAJAN
This is part of a frieze from Trajans campaigns
against the ______. The Trajanic works all came
from Trajans Forum.
Photo http//sights.seindal.dk/
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The Good Emperors
HADRIAN
This roundel shows Hadrian on a boar _____. The
head of the Emperor has been remodeled to look
like Constantine.
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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 Trajans
Forum.
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Constantinian Works
These reliefs are part of the Constantinian
Frieze that surrounds the arch completely. They
show Constantine giving out money and giving a
speech.
CONSTANTINE
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(No Transcript)
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ATTIC Arch is dedicated to Emperor Constantine
after his victory over a tyrant
Friezes lead up to victories. Inscribtion that
celebrates Constantines 10th anniversary A.D. 315
as Emperor
8 rectangular relief
8 Statues of Dacian captives
Roundrels. East Sun Rising West sun setting.
8 Medallions
Relief panels
3 Arches, innovative
SPANDRELS Victory River god
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• 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.

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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).

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• Next, of course, comes the battle for the Milvian
  Bridge, with soldiers drowning in the water
  underneath.

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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

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• 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.

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• 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).

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Relief panels from monument of Marcus Aurelias
8 Rectangular relief from Emperor Marcus
aurelias. These commerate campaigns between
Germans and Smartians probably all came from same
monument-triumphal arch. These heads were
replaced, they were reworked to look like Emperor
Constantine.

• Dacian captives are foreign
• Wear trousers
• Have beards
• Bushy hair style
• They came from forum built by Trajan 107-113

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Arch of Constantine

• Sections dated to the period of Constantine
• Spandrels
• Roundrels personification of spread of goodness
• Long narrow frieze

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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 Trajans 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 Romes Golden Age.