VI. Later Roman Art

Abstract

Figure 35 shows one of the most famous of Roman monuments, the Arch of Constantine in Rome. Ironically it is largely famous for being bad art. This arch was dedicated in AD 315 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Emperor Constantine’s elevation to power, and more specifically his victory in a civil war which gave him control of Italy in AD 312. The inscriptions in the upper, attic portion of the arch record that it was dedicated in traditional fashion by the senate and people of Rome for Constantine’s divinely inspired defeat of his rival, the ‘tyrant’ Maxentius. Perhaps there is an allusion here to his new patronage of the growing Christian religion. The arch is next to the Colosseum, not far from the older arches of Titus and Septimius Severus, and it resembles the latter in general design. So in many respects it fits in the Roman monumental tradition, yet it is a highly problematic structure.