The monument is an imposing 21 metre high and 25.6 m wide rectangular block of grey and white Proconnesian marble consisting of three separate arches: one larger central arch with a shorter and narrower arch ( fornix) on either side. The arch was dedicated on 25th July 315 CE on the 10th anniversary of Constantine’s reign ( Decennalia) and stood on Rome’s triumphal route. The arch is also a tour de force of political propaganda, presenting Constantine as a living continuation of the most successful Roman emperors, renowned for their military victories and good government. It is the largest surviving Roman triumphal arch and the last great monument of Imperial Rome. ![]() 315 CE, stands in Rome and commemorates Roman Emperor Constantine’s victory over the Roman tyrant Maxentius on 28th October 312 CE at the battle of Milvian Bridge in Rome. The Arch is a huge conglomerate of imperial Roman sculpture as many parts of it were recycled (spolia) from earlier 1st and 2nd century CE monuments. Photo by Mark Cartwright, Creative Commons It is the largest surviving triumphal arch and the last great Imperial Roman monument. Dedicated in 315 CE, the triumphal arch celebrates the emperor’s victory over the Roman tyrant Maxentius in 312 CE. There are times, such as during the period of the 'soldier emperors' in the 3rd century CE, when the rate of artistic production falls off due to political instability, but the overall quality of the surviving pieces is still high and in keeping with imperial art of earlier periods.The north side of the Arch of Constantine I in Rome. The Romans had need of changing means and manners of expression. In some cases we read archaism and abstraction and think these are less developed or less advanced than naturalism or classicism, but if we do that, we inject too much in the way of bias into the question. Changing priorities, changing ideas and philosophies require new art forms. This is true of transitions in Roman art that occur during the late third / fourth centuries CE, and then in the fifth-seventh centuries CE. In the Roman world, stylistic shifts in art production generally respond to other sets of shifting priorities and ideas. These arguments have been strongly rejected by art historians. While changing styles are evident in antiquity, it is unwise to judge stylistic change as a sign of social or technical or economic decline. Likewise, Neoclassical architecture is still commissioned. You seriously underestimate the art scene in 2016, as many artists work in marble carving and other stone-carving. Each of these religions brought its own unique sets of imagery to inform proper worship and instruct their sect’s followers. ![]() Gods and religions from other parts of the empire also made their way to Rome’s capital including the Egyptian goddess Isis, the Persian god Mithras and ultimately Christianity. Religious art is also included in this category, such as the cult statues placed in Roman temples that stood in for the deities they represented, like Venus or Jupiter. They could also depict an emperor’s successes in domestic and foreign policy rather than in war, such as Trajan’s Arch in Benevento. They also revealed foreign lands and enemies of the state. The arches and columns (like the Arch of Titus or the Column of Trajan), marked victories, depicted war, and described military life. There are also commemorative works like the triumphal arches and columns that served a didactic as well as a celebratory function. The public sphere is filled with works commissioned by the emperors such as portraits of the imperial family or bath houses decorated with copies of important Classical statues. ![]() He was also adapting in a conscious and brilliant way. It is precisely this ability to adapt, convert, combine elements and add a touch of humor that makes Roman art Roman. But the Roman artist was not simply copying. From the direct reporting of the Greeks to the utilitarian and humorous luxury item of a Roman enthusiast, Marsyas made quite the journey. A knife was the very element that would have been used to flay the poor satyr, demonstrating not only the owner’s knowledge of Greek mythology and important statuary, but also a dark sense of humor. So, for example, a famously gruesome Hellenistic sculpture of the satyr Marsyas being flayed was converted in a Roman dining room to a knife handle (currently in the National Archaeological Museum in Perugia). The variations could be made with humor, taking the serious and somber element of Greek art and turning it on its head. The copies, however, were more often variations rather than direct copies, and they had small changes made to them. The Romans did not believe, as we do today, that to have a copy of an artwork was of any less value that to have the original.
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