The Arch of Constantine

¶ … Arch of Constantine

From a structural perspective, the "Arch of Constantine" is a form of late Roman architecture, dated around 315 C.E. It was constructed by unknown men and women, and designed by an unknown architect or architects for a military commemoration of Rome's glory. In these characteristics, it shares many of the characteristics of ancient masonry of the Roman era, although it is smaller in scope than the Coliseum, for instance, and has no utilitarian purpose unlike that structure. ("Arch of Constantine," Great Buildings Online) It takes the form a triumphal or traditional upside down "U" shaped arch faced by two smaller "U's and located on the grounds of the Coliseum in the Piazza del Colosseo. It was commissioned to be erected by the Roman Senate in honor of Constantine to commemorate his victory over Maxentius in 312 A.D. (Planter and Ashby, 1929)

Despite is relatively late date, the authors Planter and Ashby state that the false colors added to the arch show just how much of this edifice was patched together from the work of previous centuries. These authors believe that the periods of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius account for the best sculpture of the Roman era, although some might contend these eras are also more imitative of Grecian sculpture. Although the authors of Art and Culture Benton and DiYanni do not attempt such a sweeping characterization of the arch and its era of construction, they do note that politically, the arch is best seen as the final flowering of the Roman Empire, rather than the height of its triumph. Constantine was the first Christian emperor of Rome, and the arch, although erected to commemorate a military triumph, is more modest in nature to the earlier Roman Pantheon and the Coliseum. Like earlier, more florid displays of Roman architecture, however, the Arch makes substantial use of Greek motifs such as columns and symmetry in its design. The decorative nature of its relief structure and its highly ornamental quality both signal the still-flowering presence of Grecian ornamental influence in Roman architecture, the existence of triumphal Roman military glory, as well as the ambiguity of an end of a pagan era and the introduction of a Christian one.