Arch of Constantine

After many years of war, Constantine’s army finally defeated the over-powering army of Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD. With this victory, much needed peace was brought to the Roman Empire. In order to venerate Constantine’s grand conquest, the Senate of Rome honored him with a triumphal arch just 3 years later. This arch is said to be the oldest obtainable arch in Rome made with spolia (See fig.1). The arch, positioned in the valley of the Colosseum between the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum, is the largest of only three arches to endure in Rome today. Several of the attractive sculptures on the Arch of Constantine were taken and included from other monuments. For example, the eight roundels set in pairs above the side arches symbolizing scenes of hunting and sacrifice, are from the time of Hadrian. Also, the eight rectangular reliefs in the attic we brought from an arch that was made in AD 176 to celebrate the numerous victories of Marcus Aurelius. Finally, standing on the cornice on top of the columns, the eight Dacian captives, come from the Forum of Trajan. I have found the Arch of Constantine’s constructional set up to be extremely exclusive and memorable. Therefore, throughout my paper I will concentrate on speaking of its Corinthian order, the position of the arch, and its components. First off, the Corinthian order is said to be the most elaborate of the classic orders of architecture. It became completely developed during the middle of the 4th century B.C., making it the latest order. The arch is divided by four columns of Corinthian order constructed with Numidian yellow marble. The shafts of the columns played an important role in the construction of the arch due to its height and dimensions as seen in Figure 2. We may be wondering what the purpose of a column height of 28 3/4 feet was. In his peer-reviewed article, Jones explains that “the cause lies in that of the shafts, 24 feet, a dimension eight times the diameter of 3

Cited: A Capriccio View of The Colosseum and The Arch of Constantine (Art Reproduction)." Art Newspaper 17 (2008): 13. OmniFile Full Text Mega. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. Jones, Mark Wilson. Genesis and mimesis: the design of the Arch of Constantine in Rome. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 59.1 (2000): 50-77. OmniFile Full Text Mega. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. Marlowe, Elizabeth. Framing the Sun: The Arch of Constantine and the Roman Cityscape. The Art Bulletin 88.2 (2006): 223-42. OmniFile Full Text Mega. Web. 24 Jan. 2011. Peirce, Philip. The Arch of Constantine: propaganda and ideology in late Roman art. Art History 12.4 (1989): 387+. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Jan. 2011.