The art work that I chose for this week is the Colossus of Constantine. I will examine the historical aspects of this piece, including economic status, original intentions, and religious influences. The Colossus of Constantine was found in the courtyard of the Musei Capitolini and consists of a head, feet, limbs, and hands. All the body parts are separated, posted up against the walls, to show how great in size this statue really was.
The statue was built with different types of material. The actual body trunk was constructed of wood, brick and bronze carapace, while the main pieces that remain consisted of marble. As we all know, the Romans never created anything that was short of great. The size of this statue was no exception. From head to toe, this masterpiece stood 35 feet high! Now if I’m not mistaken, that’s pretty darn high.
The story behind this statue is pretty interesting. Originally, in 307 AD, Co-Emperor Maxentinus had this colossal statue built of himself. Seems like a humble man, aye? After Constantine defeated Maxentinus, he gave the statue a little makeover, having it re-carved to represent himself in 312 AD. The remains of this statue were found in the Roman Forum, in the west apse of the Basilica of Maxentius. Constantine is probably most greatly remembered for making Christianity the official religion of the Empire.
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Dayna,
ReplyDeleteI like the information you provided about this work of art. I also like the "posted up against the walls" comment. There's nothing like some ancient Roman postage.
Dayna, Well done. Nice description and historical overview. Maybe next time you can post a picture of the object with your blog. I am sure you took one of the statue pieces. That would make it even better. Well done. Always fun to read your blogs.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the pieces of theis statue were amazing. I can't even imagine how big it was! I enjoyed reading your post Dayna!
ReplyDeleteVery nice informational piece. Pretty darn high indeed this statue was. Thanks for the info because I thought that this was a truly amazing work.
ReplyDeleteThe information you have on this pice is great! I didn't know some of the history and it is good to be filled in!
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