In another Constantinian relief (FIG. 10-76), the emperor dis-
tributes largesse to grateful citizens who approach him from right
and left. Constantine is a frontal and majestic presence, elevated on a
throne above the recipients of his munificence. The figures are squat
in proportion, like the tetrarchs (FIG. 10-73). They do not move
according to any Classical principle of naturalistic movement butLate Empire 28310-75Arch of Constantine (south side), Rome, Italy, 312–315 ce.
Much of the sculptural decoration of Constantine’s arch came from monuments of Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus
Aurelius. Sculptors recut the heads of the earlier emperors with Constantine’s features.10-76Distribution of largesse, detail of the north frieze of the Arch
of Constantine, Rome, Italy, 312–315 ce.Marble, 3 4 high.
This Constantinian frieze is less a narrative of action than a picture of
actors frozen in time. The composition’s rigid formality reflects the
new values that would come to dominate medieval art.1 ft.
rather have the mechanical and repeated stances and gestures of
puppets. The relief is very shallow,the forms are not fully modeled,
and the details are incised. The frieze is less a narrative of action than
a picture of actors frozen in time so that the viewer can distinguish
instantly the all-important imperial donor (at the center on a
throne) from his attendants (to the left and right above) and the re-
cipients of the largesse (below and of smaller stature).
This approach to pictorial narrative was once characterized as a
“decline of form,” and when judged by the standards of Classical art,
it was. But the composition’s rigid formality, determined by the rank
of those portrayed, was consistent with a new set of values. It soon
became the preferred mode, supplanting the Classical notion that a
picture is a window onto a world of anecdotal action. Comparing
this Constantinian relief with a Byzantine icon (FIG. 12-18) reveals
that the compositional principles of the Late Antique style are those
of the Middle Ages. They were very different from—but not neces-
sarily “better” or “worse” than—those of the Greco-Roman world.
The Arch of Constantine is the quintessential monument of its era,
exhibiting a respect for the past in its reuse of second-century sculp-
tures while rejecting the norms of Classical design in its frieze,
paving the way for the iconic art of the Middle Ages.COLOSSUS OF CONSTANTINE After Constantine’s vic-
tory over Maxentius, his official portraits broke with tetrarchic
tradition as well as with the style of the soldier emperors, and resus-
citated the Augustan image of an eternally youthful head of state.
The most impressive of Constantine’s preserved portraits is an eight-
and-one-half-foot-tall head (FIG. 10-77), one of several marble