Chapter 20 - Hannah's List



'''Nummus of Constantine (20-3). p. 292-3'''

The early portraits of Constantine are in the tetrarchic mold. The nummus is a Late Roman denomination made out of debased metal. At the time, Constantine was relatively young and insecure and therefore wanted to make the connection between himself and the previous tetrarchs. The coin depicts him as considerably older than his true age, as this style was synonymous with emperor.

 Medallion of Constantine (20-4) p. 292-3

Struck 8 years after the nummus, this medallion features a style radically different from the nummus. The young, sole emperor in the West rejected the previous mature style of the tetrarchs in favor of a more youthful one. Therefore, his portraits until his death depicted himself as youthful, reviving the conceited style of Augustus. It also features an interesting duality: Constantine as both a Roman emperor and a soldier of Christ. He is no longer depicted with the scepter of Jupiter; Christian symbolism abounds.

 Colossus of Constantine (20-5, 20-6) p. 294

Modeled after Roman images of Jupiter, this enormous marble head once topped an even larger seated body. As in tetrarchic portraiture, his face is emotionless and masklike, featuring unrealistically large eyes. Otherwise, this portrait rejects most of the features of the tetrarchic style. The youthful face harkened back to Augustus while the simple hairstyle was in homage to Trajan. Using these features from relatively happy, stable periods were intentional, forging a connection between Constantine and the emperors of the past rather than of the tetrarchy.

 Arch of Constantine (20-7, 20-8, 20-9, 20-10, 20-11) p. 294-6

Erected to commemorate Constantine’s deaf of Maxentius, this arch was the first to commemorate a victory over another Roman rather than a foreigner; Constantine even refers to Maxentius as a “tyrant” in the inscription. Constantine also thanks an unnamed “divinity” for the victory, which certainly refers to the Christian god; however, most of Rome was still overwhelmingly pagan, and Constantine was careful not to offend them while paying homage to his god. Much of the arch was taken from previous buildings and structures. It features sculptures from monuments of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. The faces were cut to resemble Constantine, however. This can be seen as a decline in creativity of the period but also as Constantine’s desire to connect himself to the emperors of the past, as seen in some of his portraiture.

 Aula Palatina (20-14, 20-15) p. 298

Commissioned by Constantine in his palace complex, this basilica-like audience hall was of traditional form. It has a very simple exterior and interior with large windows to provide ample lighting. A chancel arch separated the apse from the main hall, which is where the emperor would sit when receiving foreign dignitaries. The apse and arch would have been covered with marble and mosaics.