Detail View: ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART: Colossal Bronze Statue of Constantine [fragments]
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Collection:
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ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART
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Preferred Title:
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Colossal Bronze Statue of Constantine [fragments]
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Image View:
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Detail of ear and curled hair, right side
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Creator:
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unknown (Roman (ancient))
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Location:
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repository: Musei Capitolini (Rome, Lazio, Italy) inv. MC1072; inv. MC1070; inv. MC1065
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Location Note:
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Piazza del Campidoglio, 1; Palazzo dei Conservatori, Marcus Aurelius Exedra
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GPS:
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+41.893056+12.4825
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Date:
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ca. 330-360 CE (creation)
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Cultural Context:
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Roman (ancient)
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Style Period:
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Imperial (Roman)
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Work Type 1:
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sculpture (visual work)
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Classification:
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sculpture
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Material:
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bronze with traces of gilding
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Technique:
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casting (process)
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Measurements:
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177 cm (height, head)
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Description:
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The head is bronze with traces of gilding and is currently mounted on a neck made in 1595-1603 to give an idea of the symmetry in proportion with the rather elongated face. The ratio of the head allows for a colossal figure about 5 times life size. There is no evidence to determine whether the statue was sitting or standing; if standing it had to reach a height of more than eight or nine meters high. The top of the head is missing; a medieval source mentions a golden crown adorned with gems. There are a small series of quadrangular holes which could be explained by the presence of a 'corona radiata' tied to the head. The signs of aging in the face indicate that this is a portrait of Constantine rather than one of his sons, done in the last years of his life or possibly after his death. The origin is unknown, the provenance only goes back to the 12th century at the Lateran; it was moved to the Capitoline Museums in the donations by Pope Sixtus IV in 1471. The fragments include the head (inv. MC1072), 177 cm high; left hand (inv. MC1070), 150 cm long and globe (inv. MC1065), 150 cm high and a foot. (Source: Capitoline Museums [website]; http://en.museicapitolini.org/)
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Collection:
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Adjunct Module A: Italian Art
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Identifier:
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7A3-R-CM-CBSC-A10
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Rights:
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© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
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