From the Culture of Spolia to the Cult of Relics. the Arch of Constantine and the Genesis of Late...

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From the Culture of Spolia to the Cult of Relics: The Arch of Constantine and the Genesis ofLate Antique FormsAuthor(s): Jaś ElsnerSource: Papers of the British School at Rome, Vol. 68 (2000), pp. 149-184Published by: British School at Rome

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FROM THE CULTURE OF SPOLIA TO THE CULT OFRELICS: THE ARCH OF CONSTANTINE AND THE

GENESIS OF LATEANTIQUE

FORMS

THE MONUMENT

TheArch fConstantineFigs1 and2) hasoccupied singularlyontroversialosi-tion n thehistoriographyf Roman rt, ince hepainter aphaelwrote famousreportnantiquitiesor opeLeo X inabout1519. nRaphael'swords:

Althoughiterature,culpture,ainting,nd almost ll theotherrtshadlongbeendecliningndhadgrownworse ndworse ntil he ime fthe

last mperors,et rchitectureas still tudied ndpractisedccordingothe oodrules ndbuildings ere rectednthe ame tyles before..Ofthis here remany vidences:mong thers,heArchofConstantine,which s welldesignedndwell built s far s architectures concerned.But he culpturesfthe ame rch revery eeble nddestitutef all artandgooddesign. hose,however,hat omefrom he poils fTrajan ndAntoninusiusareextremelyine nddone nperfecttyle.

TheArch, rmore articularlyhe ontrastf tsfourth-centuryculpture ith hespoliafromhe econd enturyncorporatedn t,has cometosignifyhe nset flate ntiquityndthe mergencefmedievaltyles.na rhetoricalraditioneach-

ingbackfromerensonnthe1950svia Gibbon ndVasari o

Raphaelhimself,he

archhasbeen heparadigmor he tudyfstylisticeclineBerenson1954)withEisner1998),Gibbon1776: 428),Vasari 1568: 224-5 {Proemio elle Vite, ))withHaskell 1993: 118-21)).

Today,henotion fdecline,ndwitht thevery racticefstyle rthistory,areratherut ffashionpaceSpivey1995)).As early s 1901,Rieglhadattempt-ed torehabilitateheConstantinianeliefs ftheArch n a formalnalysiswhichaccepted,heiradical ifferenceromarlier omanmages ut ttributedhat tyl-istic ransformationo the mergencefwhat e called 'lateRomanKunstwollen'(Riegl,1901:chapter (= Riegl,1985: 51-7, 77-8, 91-5, 101-2)).2Effectively,Riegl cceptedheformal ifferences,irstignalled yRaphael, etweenhe ate

antique culpturesndthe arlierpoliaincludedn theArch, utput hem ownnot otheudgmentaland n his viewanachronistic)oncept f decline utrather

1Raphael's ettertranslation:oldwaterndTrêves, 945:74-5; Camesasca ndPiazza, 1993:

257-322).ThereferenceoPius swrong:moderncholarshipttributeshe culpturalpoliato thereigns fTrajan, adrian ndMarcusAurelius. ositive ttitudeso theArch efore aphael's etter:Massini, 993.

2On Kunstwollen': lin,1992:129-53; versen, 993:71-90.

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to a setof choices overned ya new ateRoman esthetics.

Recentcholarshipas oughtoreintegratehe culpturef heArch nto he ra-dition f mperialtate eliefsetup inthe ity fRome.The reuse fspoliafrommonumentsriginallyedicatedyTrajan,Hadriannd MarcusAurelius as beenanalysedn ermsf specificallyonstantinianrogrammef mperialropaganda:3the surpingonquerorf312 ustifiesis ppropriationfRome n monumented-icatedn315, which imultaneouslyelebrates isvictoriesverMaxentiusn312,hisdecennaliaf315 and henewConstantinianolden geevokednthemages f'good' emperorsromhe econd enturyd.5 This pproachs an mportantorrect-ivetothe xaggeratedhetoricf tylisticecadence hichharacterizedarlieriter-atureKleiner, 992:454-5),and one canhardly eny he deologicalffectf the

Arch's rogrammefpro-Constantinianropaganda.6ut he isk f mphasizingheArch's ssentialontinuityith hepast against othRiegland theadherentsf'decline'for xample, rilliant1984:122)andPierce1989: 416))), sthatwe losesight f thekeyculturalnsightmbodiednRaphael's harp istinctionfstyles,whetherhis eads otheBerensonianament ver ecline r Rieglianelebrationfearlymedievalorm.hat s, heArch idprecipitatefundamentalndradical et fchangesn Roman isual ractice hichhestylemerchants'ayhave dentifiednways hat ow eem utmodednd nappropriate,utwhich one he essdidhappen.

Muchremainsontroversialbout hemonument.7ndeed, very ime scaf-foldings erectedo restore heArch, losevisual nalysis ersuadesomethattwas really rected arlier hanConstantine byDomitian,8or xample, rbyHadrian,9rthat ven ts pparentlyonstantinianculptures infactpolia Wace,1907;Knudsen,989;1990). nadditionothese ebates, eneed orememberhattheArch sno ongern tsfinal tate fcompletionnConstantinianimes.10thas

3On the ate ntiquematerials:'Orange ndvonGerkan,939.On the arlierculpture:rajanic- Leander ouati, 987;Kleiner, 992:220-3, 264;Hadrianic Boatwright,987:190-202;Evers,1991;Oppermann,991;Turcan, 991;Kleiner, 992:251-3, 265; Schmidt-Colinet,996;Aurelian- Ryberg,967;Angelicoussis,984;Kleiner, 992:288-95,314. For a general ibliography:eMaria, 988:318-19.Photographs:iuliano, 956.Post-antiquellustrations:unzi, 999.

4Fordiscussionf he ates eeButtrey1983:375-80);paceRichardson1975),who rgued or

ad 325-6.5For he rogrammend deology: rilliant,984:119-23;Pierce, 989;Pensabene ndPanella,1993-4:125-7.For cogentritiquefthe iew ffectivelyssumed yL'Orange ndhis uccessorsthathe poliaof heArch osit 'particulariplopia.. [that] ostulatesn dealviewerwith istoric-ally pecific nowledge',eeKinney1995: 57).

The deologicalrguments notnecessarilypposed o the ragmaticasefor he euse foldermarbless a cost-cuttingxercise:Ward-Perkins,999:227-33.7 For discussion f the architectureee WilsonJones forthcoming)nd of thearchaeologyPensabenendPanella 1 99).8Domitian: rothingham1912-15) opposedbyWalton1924) andL'Orange nd von Gerkan(1939: 4-28).9Hadrian:MeluccoVaccaro ndFerroni, 993^; Steiner,994.Thisviewhas beenopposed yPensabenendPanella 1993-4: 174-5,217-20).10On the

rchaeologicalontext:

anella, 990;Panella t

al,1995.







ARCH OF CONSTANTINE 1 3

lost he culptureshich nce adornedts op Magi,1956-7), nd thas ostmost

of the oloured toneswhichwere nlaidboth ound heHadrianicondi nd nanowentirelyanished riezewhich anall thewayaround hetopof thearch'smiddle ection eneathhe ornice n which he ttic toreytands.11

Inthis aper, explorehe ulturalmplicationsf theArch fConstantinenitsfourth-centuryontext,o see fwecan redefinetsmeaningsnd ts nnovationsmore recisely.focus n twocentralspects f theArch's onstruction:irst,tsfunctions a collectionf polia andas a carefullyesignedbject or hedisplayof polia), nd, econd,he mplicit editationn thenaturefhistoryndthepastembodiedntheuxtapositionfobjects rom ifferenteriods na new, ompos-ite,monument.hat have osayassumesnevitablyhatny ostmaterials ould

nothavetransformedubstantiallyhe ssuesofspoliationnd

conographyhich

willbe discussed. lso, assume hat nce theArch eachedtsfinal tate nderConstantinet onstitutedConstantinianonument,hateverhe revious istoryof upposedarlierrches nthe ite.

SPOLIA

Muchhas beenwrittenbout he ncorporationithin heArch f Constantinealongsidetsfourth-centuryriezes,rch-spandrelsndpedestals offour ortionsof a greatfrieze elebratingrajan, ightroundels romwhat was possiblyHadrianic unting onument,nd ight elief anels rom lost rch ommemorat-

ingMarcusAurelius. he Arch s notthefirstmonumentnRome to use spolia.Enough ragmentsurviveromheArcusNovusofDiocletian,rectedn293-4ontheViaLata nRome Laubscher,976;Koeppel, 983:79and102;Buttrey,983),to show hatt ncorporatedeliefsrom Claudian rpossibly ntonine onument(thesenowbeing n thefaçade ftheVillaMedici nRome)alongside etrarchiesculptureincludingomepedestalsubsequentlyemovedotheBoboliGardensnFlorence) De Maria, 1988: 312-14; Kleiner,1992: 409-13; Torelli,1993b).Possiblylsofromhe hirdenturythoughmany avedated ttothefifth)retheremainsf the o-calledArco di Portogallo'Torelli, 993a),whichncorporatedsecond-centuryeliefanels, robably adrianic.12ikewise,narchitecture,he o-

called temple fRomulus' rected ntheVia SacrabyMaxentiusfter 07 usedarchitecturalculptureulled rom series f earlier uildingsCima,1980).13 he

11PenabenendPanella 1993^: 184,191-2)have uggestedfrieze fgreen orphyry,ut nemightlsoenvisage small iguraipus edile frieze. hiswas, fterll,thegreat geofopus edileinRome, s demonstratedythe urvivinganels rom heBasilicaofJunius assusfrom he 30s.

12Thefifth-centuryatewasproposed yStucchi1949-50: 122)andrepeated y, or xample,De Maria 1988: 325). Third-centuryateshave beenproposed yBertolettind La Rocca (1987:21-32) (the 50s)andTorelli1992: 122-3) the 70s).

Maxentianontext:ullhed, 994:45-67,esp.pp.52-5.Pre-Constantinianrchitecturalpolia:

Pensabene,993:

762-8;Pensabenend

Panella,993^: 112-25.







154 ELSNER

Archof Constantineombines hese wo kinds fspolia- notonly hefigurai

reliefs,ut lsomany rchitecturallementsuch s capitals, ases, olumnhaftsandentablature,regatheredromreviousmonumentsKahler, 953:28-36; DeMaria,1988:316;Pensabene, 988).

None the ess,while heArch fConstantineas not riginalnconstructingitsvisual nd esthetic essagesn polia, twas thebeginningf veritableloodofspoliationnConstantine'swnreign,whichwas to create undamentallyewpatternsn lateantique ndearlymedieval rt.14ven before heArchwas com-pleted,Constantine adbeguntheconstructionf the LateranBasilica in 313.Itsdouble ide-aisles ested ngreen-specklederde ntico olumns, hile he edcolumns f henave tself ere lsospolia Krautheimer,orbettndFrazer, 977:64-5, 79-80; Pensabene, 993: 750-2; Pensabene ndPanella,1993^: 127-8,166-70).Most of thecolumn-shafts,ases,capitals nd entablaturessedinthebuildingfSaintPeter's ntheVaticanHill 319-24) appear ohave been polia(Krautheimer,orbett nd Frazer, 1977: 237-8; Pensabene,1993: 753-6;Pensabene nd Panella, 1993-4: 170-4). In SaintPeter's, venthe six spiralcolumnswhich dornedhe hrine f the aint imself ere xplicitlyecordedsbeingbroughtromheGreek ast nthe ixth-centuryiberPontifìcalis,judg-mentmodern esearchhas upheld Ward-Perkins,952; Toynbee nd Ward-Perkins,956:204-5; Nobiloni, 997).15 he habit fusing poliafor hemakingofchurchesapidly ecame standard ethod as thefifth-centurynteriorsfSantaMariaMaggiore, anta Sabina and SantoStefano otondonRomeamply

attestfor xample: ensabene, 995;Brandenburg,996; Brenk, 996).However,he aidingfoldstockrooms,ilapidateduildingsndperhapser-

fectly epairable onumentsnRomewasnothingompared ith heremarkableact of collectingvia spoliationwhich accompaniedthe inauguration fConstantinoplenthe 20s and330s. nthewords fSaintJerome,riting0yearslater, Constantinople as dedicatedby the virtualdenuding f everycity'(Chronicon14 p.232,Helm)).Allkinds f ntiquetatues fromonorificed-icationslikethe etrarchs,ow nVenice) ocult magesfrom agantempleswere collected rom he citiesof the east andbroughto adorn he newcapital(Mango, 1963: 55-9; GubertiBassett,199 ).16According o Eusebius Vita

ConstantiniII. 54):

14On spolia in general: sch, 1969; Deichmann, 975; Brenk,1987;Alchermes, 994; deLachenal, 995;Poeschke, 996;Kinney,997;Mathews, 999.OnConstantinianpolia:PensabeneandPanella, 993-4:125-37;Kinney, 995;1997:126-8; Pensabene, 999.15The relevant assagefrom heLiberPontificates at theentryor ilvester 4. 16 (ed. T.MommsenBerlin, 898),vol. 1,p. 57; ed. L. Duchesne ndC. Vogel Paris, 955), ol. 1,p. 176;butgiven s 34. 19 ned. . ForchiellindA.M. StricklerRome,1978),vol.2, p. 60).16

Responses o suchpaganmonuments:aradi-Mendelovici,990; James, 996.SpoliationnByzantium:aradi, 997; poliationn Rome:Strong,994:19-20;Curran,994.








Proud statues f brasswereexposedto view inall thepublic places of the

imperial ity.Here a Pythian, here SminthianApollo excited the con-temptof the beholder,while the Delphic tripodswere erected in theHippodromeand theMuses of Helicon in thepalace. In short, he citywhich bore his name was everywhere illedwithbrazen statues of themost exquisite workmanship,which had been dedicated in everyprovince, nd whichthedeluded victimsof superstition ad long vainlyhonoured s gods with numberlessvictims and burnt acrifices, houghnow at length hey earned to thinkrightly, hen the emperorheld uptheseveryplaythingso the ridicule nd sport f all beholders.

What s strikings theparticularindofantiquarianismywhich distin-guishedlassicalheritage as literallymassed orConstantine'sewcity hroughobjectsgatherednddisplayedwithint.Throughouthefollowingentury,m-perorsnd heirministerswho vowed armore tringentlynti-paganolicies hanConstantine)ontinuedopack he itywith ntiquity'saganmasterpieces.ythelatefifthentury,collectionf 81antiquetatues, ostlyronzes, adbeengath-ered n theBaths fZeuxippus.17nthe arlyyears fthefifthentury,ausus,seniorministern thegovernmentf TheodosiusI (406-50),assembled spec-tacular ollection f ancient riginalsn his palace in Constantinople.ts gemsincludedhidias's hryselephantinelympianeus,removedfterhe uppressionoftheOlympic estivaln394,andPraxiteles'smarble nidianAphrodite,s wellas works ySkillis, ipoenus, upalus ndLysippusMango,VickersndFrancis,

1992;Gubertiassett,000).These ntiquitiesrenot he ame s the ulk f heRoman polia, n thatheywerefree-standingorks atherhan rchitecturalrnamentsrrelief culpture.ButtheArch f Constantinencluded series feight ree-standingacianpris-onersprobablyrajanic)Waelkens,985:645,nos.3-9),whichwere laced topitsfour rojectingolumns n eachofthe ong ides Fig.3). TheDacianprison-ers, ike he ntiquitiesatherednConstantinopleinso far s we can reconstructtheir onditionsfdisplay),weredivorced romheir riginal ontextsnd madeto serve ntirelyewfourth-centuryrchitecturalettingsndpurposes.18ll thisspoliarepresentsnurge o turn othematerialulture fthepast norder o bol-ster he

present.hedistinctionnd

authorityfa new

dynastynd a new

capitalwereunderwrittenyan intense isualprogrammeppealingo and rootednthepast. nmanyways his trategysreminiscentf earliermperial rogrammessuch s thepropagandafAugustus but n tswholesale ndsystematicproot-ingof someofantiquity's ostvenerablemasterpieces,twas startlinglynnov-ative.

17See Christodorus,alatineAnthologyI, withGuberti assett 1996) who has stated hatConstantineimself asresponsibleor he ollectionf these tatues491 and505),which sposs-iblebutnotprovable.18Packer

1997:I,

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There s, however, ne final spectof the cultural istoryf Constantinian ol-

lectingwhichwas ultimatelyo be byfarthemostsignificantfConstantine'sn-novations n thisfield.On his deathon 22 May 337 (Fowden, 1993; Woods, 1997;Hunt,1998: 1-2), Constantinewas laid to rest n a lavishmausoleum described tlength yEusebius (VitaConstantiniV. 58-60). Whether hisbuildingwas a cruci-form hurch the firstChurchof theHoly Apostles in Constantinople or amausoleum circular roctagonal)of thekindtypically rected ythetetrarchsndlater mperorsnthefirst alfof thefourthentury,19as beenan issueofdebate fornearlya century Heisenberg, 1908; Krautheimer, 971; Dagron, 1974: 401-8;Mango, 1990a: esp. 53^; Leeb, 1992: 93-120; Cameron and Hall, 1999: 337-8).What is significant re Constantine's ntendedcompanions in this tomb (Vita

ConstantiniV.60):Suchweretheemperor'sfferingsith view tomaking ternal hememoryftheLord's postles. ewas,however,ursuinghis onstruc-tionwith notherurposenmind,which scapednotice tfirstndonlylater ecame videntoeveryone.orhereserved or imselfhatpot orsuch ime s wasappointedor is owndemise, rovidingnadvancenthe urpassingagernessf hisfaith,hat fter isdeath isbody houldsharenthenvocationf he postleswith view obenefiting,ven fterhisdemise, romhe rayershatweregoing o be offerederen honourof he postles. orwhich eason eordainedhat ervices hould lso beperformedere,having etup an altar-tablen the middle. ndeed,heerected 2 coffins

Gtikocc)as itwere acred tatues inhonour nd

resemblancefthe postolichoir ndplaced n themiddle f them isown arcophagus,n eitherideofwhich tood ix of he welvepostles.Such, hen,s I have aid,washispurpose,onceivedwith sobermind,as regardshe lacewhere,fter isdeath, isbodywastoreposendec-orous ashion.

Thispassage s sufficientlybscure o have engenderedumerous ebatesabout onstantine'sntentionsnd hemausoleum'sinal orm. part rommphas-izing he mperor's iety,usebius as eft host f ssueswhich an be interpret-ed inseveralways.Wasthe ite riginallyonceiveds a memorialor he postles

(asEusebius

mplies)rfor he

mperor?as the

buildingmausoleum

nusuallyequipped lso tobe a church? rwas it a churchnusually esignedobe also amausoleum?nd what n earth re the welve offins hichwere omehow lsotwelve tatues? incethe Church ftheHoly Apostles substantiallyebuilt yJustiniann the ixth entury) as razed o thegroundyMehmetheConquerorwhen eused he ite or he rectionf he atihMosque n1462, he ompleteackofarchaeologicalvidence ardly elps.But t sabundantlylear hat onstantine

19Forexample, hemausolea f Diocletian t Split,Galerius t GamzigradndThessalonike,Maxentius n theViaAppiaoutsideRome,Helena on theVia Labicana, antaCostanza n theViaNomentanandCentcellesn

Taragona.







158 ELSNER

was buried s the hirteenthpostlena sacred hrine onstructedlsoto commem-

orate he welve postles,ach ofwhomwas built tomb.As controversials thequestionsurroundinghebuildings thedatefor hetranslationf apostolicremains o the tombs.21 June336 (that s, duringConstantine'sifetime)nd 3 March 57or 360 thats,duringhe eign fhisson,ConstantiusI) are attestedyfourth-centuryources or hebringingf therelicsof SaintsAndrew nd Luke to ConstantinopleMango, 1990b;Woods,1991).However his onundrums toberesolved, hatsagain lear sthat ometimefterthe erection ftheempty postolic ombsand possibly ery oonafter,uringConstantine'swn ifetime)hey egan o befilledwith newkind f poliawhosesignificances a model ormedieval atternsfpiety anhardlyeoverrated.20ythe ndof thefourth

enturynd

throughouthe

fifth,mperorsnd

bishopswould

viein anintenseompetitionor hebonesofwhathavebeencalled thevery pe-cial dead' (Brown,1981: 69): The cult of relics apparentlynauguratednConstantine'sater ears wasalreadynfull lood.21

I want osuggesthat,nthedevelopmentf Constantinianollectingnddis-play, heArch fConstantineas the irsttepna setofexperimentshichwouldultimatelyesultntheHolyApostles. nlike he arlierollectingf mperorsuchas Hadrian r theSeveransexemplifiedn the urvivingculpturesrom heVillaatTivoli Raeder, 983)andtheBaths f CaracallaMarvin, 983;DeLaine,1997:265-7)),theArch fConstantineas a collectionfearlierriginals,ot fcopies.Inthis, s I haveremarked,twasanticipatedytheArcusNovusofDiocletiannd

emulated y the statuesn Constantinople.ut the archdiffersrom heArcusNovus nfocusingpecificallyn the ortraiteliefs fearliermperors,ntowhosebodiesConstantine'swn head was reçutsee,for xample, igs4-6 and,below,Fig.8).Whilewecannot econstructhe rogrammefDiocletian'srch,heres nodoubt hat heArch fConstantineas a singularlymperialhemeincontrastothethemes fvictoryndtriumpharadedn theother urvivingrchesnRomethose fTitus ndSeptimiuseverus).Unlike he therrches, onstantine'srchfocuses nthe conic oings femperors hunting,ispensingustice,ddressingthepopulace, nteringities, istributingargitio,venperforminghe ct of sacri-fice and mphasizeshehistoricntiquityf uch ctivitieshroughooking ack

to earliermperors.neffect,heArch f Constantineollects roundhe mperorthemages fhisowndistinguishedredecessorsntowhose ery ormse hasbeenmerged y replacingheir eatures ith is own.

20Constantineeemsresponsiblelso for he ranslationf LucianofAntiochn 327 or 328 toDrepanumnBithynia the irthplacefhismother,hichwas renamed elenopolisnherhonour:Chroniconaschale 527Bonn;Barnes, 981:221;Maraval, 985:367; Pohlsander,995: 3. In thelast month f his life,Constantine ent o pray here efore ying tNicomedia: usebius VitaConstantiniV.61; Barnes, 981:259; Pohlsander,995:22.21Cult fthe aints: elehaye, 912:60-119; 1927:196-207; 1930;Brown, 981.On the ise ftranslationfter 50:

Mango,1990a:51-2,60-1.

Pilgrimage:örting,950:330-42.







ARCHOF CONSTANTINE 1 9

Fig. . TheArch fConstantine.etail fthehead fConstantinereçut rom head fTrajan) romthe ection fthe reat rajanicrieze n thewestwallof he assagewaynthe entralpening.hoto:DAI,Rome,nst.Neg.82.1106.Reproducedourtesyf heDeutsches rchäologischesnstitut,ome)

By the end of the 330s - after he dedication fConstantinople,fter heCouncil fNicaea andthe irmstablishmentfChristianitys thepreferredifnotyet he nly xclusive)mperialult Constantine's ausoleum eformulatedhetropes f visualrhetoric e find n theRoman rch nChristianerms. y appro-priatinghe mages f the aints atherhan hose f the mperors,nstead f hisimperial redecessors,onstantinenauguratedhe ollectionf hisapostolic ore-fathers. hether ewashimselfesponsibleor hefirstranslationfrelics o thetombs etup nthemausoleum,rwhethertwashis on, s lesssignificanthan hefact hat hetombswerepreparednd that heirpacewas thespaceof his ownentombment.hristianityad no spolia,no visualor architecturalemains,o beculledfrom he

placesof its

scripturalast.ts

only poliawerethebonesof its







160 ELSNER

Fig.5. TheArch fConstantine.etail fthehead fConstantinereçut rom head fTrajan) romthe ection fthe reat rajanic riezen the astwallof the assagewayn the entralpening.hoto:DAI, Rome,nst.Neg.32.51. Reproducedourtesyf heDeutsches rchäologischesnstitut,ome)

dead.Where heArch fConstantinembeddedhe mperor'smage nthemidstfhischosenmperialntecedents,hemausoleumlacedhisbodywithin collectionof nfinitelyore ignificantncestors at east or nyonewhoprofessedhe aithofJesus hrist.

The daptationf he ulturef poliatothe ult frelicswasa brilliantnddar-ing eap. tsspectacularffectmaybe seen ntherate twhichatefourth-centurybishopsikeAmbrose f Milanor DamasusofRomediscoveredhebodiesof ost

martyrsndusedtheir onesnthefoundingf churchesAmbrose:McLynn,

994:








Fig. 6. TheArch fConstantine.etailoftheheadofConstantinereçut rom headofHadrian)fromheHadrianicmedallionhowing boarhunt,nthe astern ndof thenorth rontfor he

wholeview, ee Fig.1) Photo:DAI, Rome, nst.Neg.32.36. Reproducedourtesyfthe

Deutsches rchäologischesnstitut,ome)

211-17, 30-5, 347-50,363-4;Damasus:Pietri,976:529-57; Charlet, uyon ndCadetti, 986). tspoliticsntheHolyApostles ere s potents those f heArch fConstantinen315.While he rchhad ttemptedo ustifyhe ightfuluccession fa conquerorn city e hadust aken yforce,hemausoleumffirmedor llto seethat whatevermbivalencesfreligiousolicyheongyears fConstantinianov-ernmentaddisplayed the mperor'sinal ositionand, tillmore ignificant,hatofhisheirs, hooversaw isburial)ayunambiguouslyith hristianity.ut, s inthe ase ofthe

Arch,he mmediate

oliticsremuch ess

significanthan he ultur-







162 ELSNER

al impactf thesemonuments'reationnd continuedxistence.he archhelped o

establishnaestheticf poliawhich asbeen f he ssence ot nly omedievalrtingeneralut o uccessiveefurbishmentsf he ity fRome tself. hemausoleumtook his ntiquarianismf materialbjects ndappliedt by360 at theveryatest)tothe xcavationnddisplayf aintlyodies.Bothmonumentsere oncernediththecollectingnddisplay foriginals whetherriginal culpturesr authenticbones. none sensebothwereverymuch f theirime, atherhanheadof t, incetheirss ultimatelyonceived s a culture f wholeremainscomplete culpturalpanels rtondi,wholebodiesof mportantaints). ery apidly,oth he ulling fspoliaand the ult f relicswouldbecome culture ffragmentss (inboth ases)demandwiftlyame o exceed upply.

Fig. 7. TheArch fConstantine.etail f theheadof a tetrarchreçut rom headofHadrian) romtheHadrianicmedallionhowing sacrificeoApollo, n the asternideofthenorthront.hoto:

DAI, Rome,nst.Neg.32.39. Reproducedourtesyf heDeutsches rchäologischesnstitut,ome)








PAST AND PRESENT

Letus examinemore arefullyheuxtapositionfreliefsrom ifferenteriods ntheArch f Constantine.t s this onfrontationfobjectswhichhasalways cca-sioned heprincipalebate whethero reflectn issues fstylefor xampleL'Orange ndvonGerkan, 939: 192-219; Berenson, 954;Kitzinger,977:7-9,15-16; Strong, 988: 276-8), or on questions fpropagandand ideologyforexample Pierce, 989;Ruysschaert,962-3).Withhepossible xceptionftheeight acianprisoners,oneof thereused poliaonthe rchwas installednthefourthentury ithoutmodificationsHannestad, 994:59-63 (Hadrianic ondi),86-92 (Trajanic rieze)).nparticular,he mperial eadswerereçutvonSydow,

1969:23-5;Rohmann,998:265-7): Trajan o becomeConstantineFigs4 and5)(Leander ouati, 987:91-5; Koeppel,1985:174 no. 13), 179 no. 49)),Hadriantorepresentonstantinendoneother etrarch whetherisco-emperoricinius(whom eeventuallyverthrewn324) orhis father onstantiushlorus as beenmuchdebatedFigs6 and7).22The heads of MarcusAurelius, eçut rpossiblyreplacednthefourthenturyprobablyyheads ofConstantine)Stuart ones,1906:251-2),wererestoredn 1732 see Fig. 3).23 n effect,ll the poliaweremarkeds contemporarynthe ourthenturyythe nsertionfConstantines fea-turesndpossiblyhose fhis deified athernto hebodies fearliermperorscf.Kinney, 995: 57-8). Whateverualmscritics ave felt bout thestyleof theConstantinianriezes,heres little oubt bout he xcellentuality f these eçut

heads.24he actofmakingenerable orks romhepast ontemporaryy chang-ing he ortraitsasnot n tself ew ntheRomanworldBlanck, 969).25 ut hearch evelopshis racticeymakingt systematicnd oherenteaturef he es-theticf complexublicmonument.heeffects tocompressime,othat he ast- the rasofTrajan, adrianndMarcus becomes ssimilatednto hepresent.

The polia, ll ncorporatednto he pperevels f he rchexcept or he wopanelsfromheTrajanic riezewhich ccupy hecentral assageway, ig.8), are

22Generally: vers,1991: 786-93. For Licinius:L'Orangeand von Gerkan, 939: 165-7;

Berenson,954:48,54; L'Orange, 984:40-9, 116-17;Kleiner, 992:446;Rohmann,998:263-73.ForConstantiushlorusinsteadfLicinius): alza, 1959-60:145-54;Ruysschaert,962-3:81; vonSydow, 969:24-5; Boatwright,987:194;Pierce, 989:412; Evers, 991:790;Turcan, 991: 56. Ifind he rgumentsn favour f Liciniusweak andthoseforConstantiustrongerhough otcom-pelling.f Smith1997) has identifiedheportraitf Licinius orrectly,hen heLicinius ypothesisfor heArch fConstantineust inallye laidto rest.

Accordingothe culptorietro racci, he ighteenth-centuryeads now nsitu)representConstantinendnot rajan,sreportedronglyyAngelicoussis1984: 142),Kleiner1992:288) andCapodiferro(1993).ee Gradara, 918:161.

'Superb' Hannestad1994: 92); 'almostworthyf thebestAttic raditions'(l) Berenson(1954: 55-7).25Thearchetypalase is theColossusofNero,which ppears o havebeen reçutor at leastrededicated)ith omefrequency:ega,1989-90 with repertoryf ources p.364-8); Bergmann,

1994:7-17.







164 ELSNER

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Fig. 1 . The Arch f Constantine.etail fthenortheastorner,howinghe astern rieze(Constantine'spproachoRome) urninghe orner n to thenorthront. hoto:DAI, Rome, nst.

Neg.5636. Reproducedourtesyf heDeutsches rchäologischesnstitut,ome)

aneffectiveisualmarker f the ontinuityf thefrieze's arrativection roundthe rchBrilliant,984:121;Pierce, 989:414; Koeppel, 990:40, 43,52,56),bycontrast ith he elf-containedcons bove Figs11-14).That ontinuityoth es-tures othe pecific istorical arrativeelatedy he riezeConstantines defeat fMaxentius)ndundercutshis tory ycontinuingack o the eginninggain.Thenorth ace fthe rch ontains oth hebeginningndthe ndofthe rieze's arrat-ive. nfact, istory as toprove hefrieze orrect:fter he riumphantntrynto

Rome,here ould ndeed e another

rofectio,notheretof

iegesndbattlesnd







170 ELSNER

Fig. 13. TheArch f Constantine.etail f thenorthwestorner,howinghe peningfthewest-ern riezethe dvance romMilan) tthewest ndof thenorth ront. hoto:DAI, Rome, nst.Neg.

5642. (ReproducedourtesyftheDeutsches rchäologischesnstitut,ome)

(L'Orange nd vonGerkan, 939:219-29; Brandenburg,981:71-4). Buttheresa parallelwithChristianypological airingsf Old and NewTestamentcenes nthepresentationfa Constantinianarrativefvictorygainst hebackdropftheglorious eeds ofearlier mperors,nparticularrajan, nd the conic ctions fMarcus nd Hadriannfulfillinghe mperial ole Malbon,1990: 150-1; Eisner,1995:280).

Letus examineomeofthe ffectsfthis isual ompressionfpast ndpres-entby ookingt the otal ffect f the culpturalisplay n,for xample,he woshorterides f heArch. hishashardlyeen ttempted,ince cholarshipasbeenconcernedmore o discuss hedifferentlements fspolia accordingo theirup-posedoriginalnterrelationsndprovenanceshan o elucidate he etting hich he








Fig. 14. TheArch fConstantine.etail ftheConstantinianriezet thewest ndofthenorthfront,howinghe ast wo oldiers f Constantine'srmyeavingMilan. Photo:DAI, Rome, nst.

Neg.32.45. (Reproducedourtesyf heDeutsches rchäologischesnstitut,ome)

Senate'sdesignershosefor hemncelebrationfConstantine.28he westside

(Fig. 15)has,at itscentre,heConstantinianedallionfthe ettingmoonwith,2SI amconscious ere hat am mputingntentionoboth heArch's rogrammend o he enate

as its naugurators.oth hese ssumptions ightecriticizedKinney, 995:57); but at east n thecase of he edicators)t eems erverseodeny he enate roleproclaimedoudly y heArch'smainattic nscriptionnd implied lso in thedatives fthepassagewaynscriptions.heArch'spropa-ganda, herefore,epresentsot onstantineustifyingimselfassuggestedy, orxample,renk1987:105) and Pierce 1989: 388, 391,415)) butratherhe Senatepresentingheir ewemperor ithvisual rogrammehat onstructsimn theway hey opedhe would urnut.This llows heArch oappear s a highlyraditionalenatorialmonumentliketheAraPacis)with he mperors recipientof xternallyestowed onours. fcourse,he lacing ftheArch t the ndpointfMaxentius'sreatbuilding rogrammeothe ast f he orumonwhich eeCullhed1994:49-55)) allows t ocapandmakeConstantinianhewholeMaxentianroject.







172 ELSNER

immediatelyelow,the inaugurationf the fourth-centuryrieze howing he

emperornd hisarmy eavingMilan for hewaragainstMaxentiussee Fig.9).Above, nthe ttic, fragmentrom hegreat rajanic riezeets heConstantinianwar nthe historicalontext f a virtuallyndless ycleof imperial arfareasendless,nthe ontext fofficialrtnthe ity fRome, s thehelical riezesn thecolumns fTrajan ndMarcus).On either ideof the ttic toreyreset woof thefree-standingefeated acians perhaps riginallyrom rajan's orum), hile nthebases of thepilastersn each side of thebottom f thewesternndof the rchare twofourth-centurycenes of defeated nemies male and female)betweenRoman ictorytandards.

Fig.15. The Arch f Constantine.eneral iewof thewest rontfor etail f the entralection,seeFig.9). Photo:DAI, Rome, nst.Neg.38. 701. ReproducedourtesyftheDeutsches

Archäologischesnstitut,ome)







174 ELSNER

Butthe ecuttingsn theArch f Constantineeverse hese atternsnseveral

ways.Firstly,he eçut anels renot eftn itu, s weremostmajor ecuttingsol-lowing amnatiomemoriae,uch s theColossusofNeroor theArgentariieliefs.Secondly,he ct ofrecuttingnthe ase of theArch f Constantineepresentsota rejectionfthese reviousmperorswho nfact opped he istofgoodrulers)but atherbolsteringndelevatingfConstantinehroughiterallyuttingim ntheirhoes.30neffect,s theArch earches ormethods fcreating typologicalrelationshipetween onstantine,hefourth-centurysurpingonqueror,nd hisgreat econd-centuryredecessors,t does so by simultaneouslyxploitingndtransformingime-honouredatternsf Roman mage-making.he reçut ead-forcenturies signalof the condemnationf thefigurewhoseface has been

destroyednowbecomes mark fhonour or he

mperorhosefacehas been

inserted,npart ecause f he raiseworthyody ntowhich isheadhasbeenput.In this, hereliefs f the archemulate raditionsf the honorificeuse of

statuesBlanck, 969;Jucker,981 onanearlier eriod)), s well as the eaving funfinishedeads nd the aternsertionfportraiteads ntomythologicalcenescommonnnon-imperialoman rtHuskinson,998),for xample nsarcophagilike he plendidudovisi arcophagusow nthePalazzoAltempsnRome L. deLachenal nGiuliano, 983:56-67).

1Here a mythologicalr a battle ceneof afairlytandardizedype as theportraitfthedeceased nsertednthefigurefthemain rotagonist who s simultaneouslyommemoratedhroughisportraitndelevated yvirtue f thegrandmilitaryrmythicalarrativenwhich efigures.Thisstrategy,xtremelyommonnRoman rtgenerally,s rarelyttestednpub-lic imperialrt, hough liny ecorded hecase oftwopaintingsf AlexanderyApelles, roughtoRomebyAugustusnddisplayedinthemost requentedartsofhisforum',nwhichClaudius ubstitutedheportraitfAugustusorApelles'sheadofAlexanderPliny, aturalHistory5. 36.94).Effectively,he eliefs ftheArch fConstantinelothe he mperornthevirtually ythologizedeedsof hisRomanforebears as theLudovisiyouths clothednthegrandeurf RomanvictoryndClaudius'sAugustuswas clothednthe frame both esthetic ndmyth-historicalofApelles'sAlexander.

Therecuttingsf he eused eliefs ntheArch osit novelkind fvisual ro-

pagandawhich sboth tterlyraditionaln ts reatmentsf earliermagerynd at

30Here differrom inney1997: 146)who has nsistedhatrecuttingiterallyffaced.. ori-ginal eferents.laudiuswith he ace ndname fDiocletian as Diocletian. rajanwith he ace ndepithetsfConstantineasConstantine'.heproblem ith his osition which ffirmshe radi-tional ttitudeo mperialamnatiomemoriaepheld ot nlynfirst-nd econd-centurybjects, utalso innumerous exts is that herecuttingf faceson theArchof Constantineand its third-centuryredecessors) asnot nexample fdamnatio. hat hevisual anguage f damnatiohouldhavebeenappropriatedo mperialraise ntheArch s perhapsvidence hat,s inthe ase of theColossus fNero, he riginaleferentas infact everwhollv ffaced.

Thefrequentttemptso dentifyhe ortraitnevitablyavebeen entralothe rgumentsboutdating,ut date nthe econdhalf f the hirdenturys agreed enerally.








the ametime adically ew.The methodsfdamnatiomemoriaeas practisedn

thefirstnd second enturiesatherhan nder heSeverans) reused,butwithoutthe ondemnatoryntentions.hehighlyraditionalracticef dding ortraiteadsto bodies engaged n militaryr mythical arrativesor to statue ypes ikeDoryphorusrthe thletes)s againpressednto ervice,utwith he evolutionarytwist hatt s earlier tate eliefs fpreviousgood' emperors hich rovide hemythicalontextntowhich onstantines image s cut.32

CULTURAL CONTEXT

Thevisual trategiesf theArch f Constantineerehardlysolatedwithinate

Roman ulture.trikingly,heArch's estheticf

bricolageits

syncretismf

fragmentsrom ifferenteriodsndstyless thebasisofa newmonument hichputs certainnterpretativenuson itsviewers reflectsimilar atternsn ateantique oetryRoberts, 989: 66-121; Miller,1998). The figurativeoemsofOptatian,ornstance, homConstantine adePrefectfRome n 329 andagainin333, re owrittenhat ertainetters,ighlightednred, orm geometricalat-ternwhosesequencemakes yntacticalndsemantic enseand reads s a poemwithin poem Levitan, 985:254-63;Miller, 998: 123-6). LiketheHadrianicmedallionsndtheAurelian anels,not to speakof the Constantinianriezewhose ormalnd tylisticffinitiesarkhem sparticularroupswithinhe ver-all visualprogrammeftheArchwith heir wn pecific arrativesofhuntingnd

sacrifice,f traditionalmperial riumphnd of theConstantinianonquest fRome) oneofOptatian'satterns,hile ormallyegregatedromhe est fhispoem,functionsothwithinhe arger oem'scontextnd separately.ust s aknowing iewermighthoosetoreadthe conographyfTrajan rMarcus, ay,against hepro-Constantiniannterpretationfpositivehistoricalrecedentandhence ee Constantines a usurper,or xample),oOptatian'seadersould hooseto nterprethefiguraioemeithernharmony ith he arger oemoragainstt.WhileOptatianoesnot lay nthe ast hematically,enone he essdevelopshefundamentalraditionsfLatin erse oradicallyewends Levitan, 985:168-9),just s the rchmakes onsiderablennovationsut fthemost raditionalractices

ofRoman rt.

32Itmaybe that omethingfthenoveltyfthese ecuttingsntheArch fConstantinend tspredecessors,heArcodiPortogallond heArcusNovus,waspresagednthird-centurymperialtatu-ary. colossalnude nNaples MuseoNazionale 993)appears orepresenteverus lexandereçutfromlagabalus.n this ase, lthoughlagabalus ad ufferedamnatiomemoriae,t s also true hatAlexander ashis doptedonandheir. he statueanthus e read s both ffacinghememoryfahated redecessorthe raditionalseofrecuttingn mperialrt) ndas a newkind f filial enuflec-tion oa deceased ncestoranticipatinghemuchmore eveloped ypologicalseofrecuttingn theArch fConstantine):ittschenndZanker, 970.







176 ELSNER

Meanwhile, oetsfrom efore heendof the third entury,xploitinghe

verbal uarryf he ast, ansackedhe anonical orks fHomer ndVirgilocreatecentos nGreek nd Latin new works often ut not nvariablyn Christianthemes)madeup entirelyrom heclassic ineswrittenythehallowedmasters(Crusius, 899; Lamacchia,1984; Gärtner ndLiebermann,997; Hoch, 1997:1-^42; sher, 998).WhileAusonius's pectacularescriptionf exual ntercourse(entirelyn uxtaposedines ofVergil)mayhardly omparewith hesobrietyfTrajan,Hadrianand Marcus transformedntoConstantinelet alone Proba'sretellingftheBible nVirgilianentos!), he estheticfappropriationndtrans-formed eanings an ronic ersion fthe ameprocess.33uchcentos ould gainbe readon at east) wo evels: s narrativeoems ntheir wnrightnd as clever

'cut-and-paste'obs,playingwith he anon.

Again,he

parallelswith heArch re

obvious notonly n theformalevelof reuse f poliaandmaking newworkofart, ut also on themore omplex nterpretativeevel ofofferingeaders ndviewers ifferentositionsndpossibilitiesor xegesis,whose hrustouldnotbewholly ontrolledythe rch'smakers.

On themore hematicevel,philosophers,rammariansndbishops iedtoreinterprethesubstance f Homer ndVirgil forexample:Lamberton,986:144-232;1992;MacCormack,998:1-88).Constantineimselfave sermonre-sentingheMessianic hild ofVirgil's ourth clogueas ChristBenko,1980:671-2; LaneFox, 1986:649-52; MacCormack,998:23-7). Thiskind ftypolo-gical exegesis muchmorecommonlyfcourse mployedo show how Old

Testamenthemesrefiguredhe vents f heNew Testament underlieshe reatfloweringf visual ypologyntheChristianrts f the hird nd fourthenturies(Schrenk,995;Eisner, 995:271-87). Like the ypologyf theArch, heuse ofscenes such sJonah's ncounter ith hewhale rthe acrificef saactofore-shadow heChristianarrativefJesussResurrection conflatedast ndpresent,anddisplayedhe ast nlynso far s the ast svalidatedy, ulfillednandmademeaningfulhroughhe resent.While heArch's ypologicalmageryadnoovertexegetic nderpinningn a canonical ext uch s scripturer evenVirgil's oetry,theheroic recedentfpreviousmperial xamplewas a staple ffourth-centuryhistoryndpanegyricHistoriaAugusta lagabalus 1. 1-2,Claudius . 3, 18.4,

Aurelian 2. 4, Tacitus . 9; Panegyriciatini L 4.5, 11.6, V 24.6 (withNixon(1990: 30-3)).Thesefourth-centuryodelsofverbalor visual uxtaposition variously

described s an aesthetic fdiscontinuity'Roberts,989:61), theproductionfmeaning yfragmentation'Miller, 998: 188) and theproductf a remarkablyparatacticmagination'Miller, 998: 199) - have a resonancewith hecultofrelics Miller, 998: 123, 126, 130-3), a 'cult'better escribed s an aesthetic'

33Ausonius:Nugent, 990:37^1; Malamud, 989:35-9; Slavitt, 998: 47-75 (for brillianttranslationnto Shakespeareanento); roba:Clark ndHatch, 981.








(Miller, 998: 123).Forrelics, hefragmentsfonce wholebodies,possessed y

synecdochehe ctive,venmagical, ower f hewhole nthe art. hey elongedtothe astbutwere ssimilatedopresenteeds in iturgy,nchurchuilding,ncommemorativeonuments.ike an Old Testamentype, r one of Constantine'spredecessorsn hisArch, heir esonance scillated onstantlyetween heir ri-ginalmeaningndtheir ew ignificancenwhateverontextheyweredeployed.

Within herealm of stateart,thedesigners f Constantine'smonumentsemployedhis ew tyle f yncretisticricolageo brilliantnd ncrementalffect.Whilehistetrarchieredecessorsad ustifiedheirmperialineage hroughovianandHerculean ynastiesLiebeschuetz,979: 240-4), theArch'suse ofspoliarealigns onstantinewayfrom he raditionalods ndtowardsnequallydealiz-

ingsuccession f

good emperors'.he

buildingfapostolic

ombsnthemau-soleum tConstantinopleitself transformedmperialamilymausoleumuch sthose fAugustusndHadriantRome)used regimef mages oproclaim fur-ther ndfundamentalhange f ineage:Constantinendhisheirs owtracedheirsuccession yvirtue fthe uccessors f Christ s well as (and ultimatelyatherthan)thoseofAugustus. he placingof relics n themausoleumwhetheryConstantineoon aftertsfoundingrbyConstantius generationater) upple-mentedndaffirmedhechange flineage hroughhe addition f actual poliafromhe cripturalast,mbued ith ll the ctive ower f he aints. elics likethe poliaontheArch addeda material iscourse f the ctualhallowed ub-stances f thepastto thatof visualrepresentation.ne interestingifference

betweenheArch nd themausoleumsthat heformer's ethod fconflation,nwhich onstantineclipses ispredecessorsybeing arvednto heirodies, iveswaytoa supplementalodewhere he mage f Constantines added o those fthe welvepostles,ndultimatelyheir odies rebroughtoaccompanyis.

In thecontextfsurvivingculpturendarchitecturenRome, heArchofConstantinetands ut.Whether e focus n theusesof polia,on the nnovativejuxtapositionf tylisticallyndchronologicallyiverse eliefculpturesn a high-lytraditionalrchitecturaltructurethiswasRaphael'soriginal oint f nterest),on issuesof recutting,r on thetypologicalotentialf theArch's magery,tembodiesundamentalhangesn Roman isual ractice.ut hese recast nhigh-

lytraditional evenconservative forms. he arch s so traditionals tobehardly ew, ndyet ts nnovationsre andsignal uture rupturesith revi-ouspractice hich re ittle hortfrevolutionary.

Aloneof all RomanemperorsxceptAugustus, onstantineccupiedthethrone or ver30 years.LikeAugustus, e engineeredolitical hangeswhichtransformedheempire o an extent o other uler chieved.One aspectofthisprocess fpoliticalransformationas Zanker1988) hasshownwith uch om-pelling legancenthe ase ofAugustus was thedevelopmentfa rhetoricfimages daptedotheneeds f mperial ower t the ime.Ofcourse, he vidence(includinghevisual vidence) or hereign fConstantines much essthan hatfor he

eignfAugustus.ut,

fweexamine hegreat

onstantinianrojectsfrom







178 ELSNER

theArch o thebuildingf churchesothefoundationfConstantinoplendthe

mausoleum),ooking t themnot n isolation utas aspects fa concertednddevelopingisualstrategyverthree ecades, t is quiteclearthatConstantinesspindoctors ere smasterlyndcreatives those fAugustus.hat hemedievalcultof relics ndthemedieval estheticfspoliationwes so much othispro-grammes (atleastfrom heviewpointf those nthe arly ourthentury)ortu-itous; ut t s also a tributeotheboldandbrilliantsesofart,poliaandrelicsnthe tate ropagandafConstantine.34

JasElsner

34Theresearch or his aperwas conducteduringmy enure fa HughLastFellowshipttheBritish chool at Rome n 1997. thank aul Zanker or endingme his ownadvance opyoftheRendicontior 993^ (almost ntirelyevotedo theArch fConstantine)ver woyears eforehisvolume eachedny ibrarynLondon,swell s Dale Kinney,eter tewart,ryanWard-PerkinsndMarkWilson ones or enerouslyetting e see their orkn advance fpublication.ersionsf hispaperhave beendeliveredt seminarsn theuniversitiesfCalifornianLos Angeles, ambridge,Chicago, xford, eading ndtheCourtauldnstitute:amgratefuloeveryone ho ook he roubleto nterrogatee andmakeme thinkgain. owe a numberfparticularmprovementso theEditor

(BryanWard-Perkins),ichael

Allen,Dale

Kinney,eil

McLynnndthe

nonymouseaders.

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