THE ROMAN EMPIREGARDNER CHAPTER 10-7

PP. 280-286

DIOCLETIAN AND THE TETRARCHY

Emperor Diocletian (r. 283-305) -> in 293 he decides to share power w/ his rivals -> established the TETRARCHY rule by four

Divides the empire into eastern and western spheres -> results in the Latin West and Byzantine East in the Middle Ages

TETRARCHIC PORTRAITURE

Portrait of the four tetrarchs, from Constantinople, 305 CE

Diocletian established the tetrarchy to bring order to the Roman world

Made of porphyry/purple marble -> four emperors depicted as identical partners in power, not as distinct individuals

Large cubical heads on squat bodies -> drapery is schematic, bodies are shapeless, faces are emotionless masks

Idealism, naturalism, individuality, and personality are now in the past

PALACE OF DIOCLETIAN Diocletian abdicates in 305 CE ->

retires to Dalmatia -> builds a palace Split on the Croatian coast

Well-fortified suburban palace -> fortress walls, watch towers and gates

Two avenues intersect at the forum-like colonnaded courtyard leading to the emperor’s residential quarters

CONSTANTINE

Portrait of Constantine, from the Basilica Nova, Rome, Italy, ca. 315-330, 8’6” high -> whole statue must have been over 30’ seated

Part of an enormous figure that sat as the focal point of the Basilica Nova in Rome

Parts of the body that show were done in marble -> lost now are the wooden elements that represented the torso, perhaps covered in bronze

Colossal size and seated pose likens him to Jupiter

Idealized portrait, timelessness -> image of eternal authority

ARCH OF CONSTANTINE Arch of Constantine, Rome, Italy, 312-315

CE

Great triple passageway arch sited next to the Colosseum

Much of the sculptural decoration comes from monuments of Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius

Sculptors recut the heads of the earlier emperors with Constantine’s features

Reuse of sculptures = decline in creativity and technical skill in the waning years of the pagan Roman Empire

CONSTANTINIANFRIEZE Distribution of largesse, detail of the

north frieze of the Arch of Constantine, Rome

Constantine is frontal and majestic on a throne as grateful recipients approach from left and right

Figures do not move according to any Classical principles of naturalistic movements -> mechanical and repeated stances and gestures of puppets

Not narrative action, but actors frozen in time -> rigid formality reflects new values

A decline in form?

COLOSSUS OF CONSTATINE

Constantine becomes emperor in 312 CE

Edict of Milan -> ends persecution of Christians

Constantinople -> city of Constantine founded at Byzantium

Council of Nicea 325 CE -> Christianity becomes the de facto official religion of the Roman Empire

Paganism declines rapidly

Transfer of power from Rome to Constantinople and the recognition of Christianity mark the end of antiquity and beginning of the Middle Ages

BASILICA NOVA, ROME

Restored cutaway view of the Basilica Nova, Rome. Italy, ca. 306-312 CE

From the apse the seated colossus of Constantine dominated the interior of the basilica

Coffered barrel vaults in the aisles

Groin vaults over the nave

Fenestration of the concrete groin vaults provided lighting

AULA PALATINA, TRIER Aula Palatina, Trier, Germany,

early 4th century CE

Basilica like audience hall

Austere brick exterior is typical of later Roman architecture

Two stories of lead framed panes of glass take up most of the surface area

AULA PALATINA –INTERIOR

Flat, wooden, coffered ceiling

Interior has no aisles

Semicircular apse at one end

Interior is quite severe -> has close parallels in many early Christian churches