Arch of Constantine


Alyssa
The arch of Constantine, built between the years of 312 and 315, and located directly next to the colosseum, was built to commemorate Constantine’s triumph over Maxentius. (Kleiner) Today it is a popular tourist attraction and remains an incredible piece of art. Carved into it’s marble panels are beautiful murals depicting scenes of Constantine with “good emperors”. (Kleiner) It’s corinthian columns and it's arches were all reused from other buildings. It was the largest arch built in Rome.  While some of the statues were newly carved others were taken from monuments for Marcus Aurelius, Trajan, and Hadrian with remade heads to look like Constantine. The scenes depicted things such as sacrifice, the distribution of largesse, and the granting of clemency. (Kleiner) The fact that the statues were reused has been referenced as evidence of creative decline in Rome.

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