As an art enthusiast, taking a virtual tour of the Capitoline Museum is exhilarating. The Musei Capitoline is itself an artifact based on its history as one of the oldest museums in the world. The location of Musei Capitoline in another fascinating fact since it is positioned at the top of Campidoglio Hill which can be dated back to 1471. The virtual tour to Musei Capitoline provided a brief view of the courtyard where one can have a look at the examples of the Colossal Roman sculptures that are on display in the open space. In this essay, I will focus on a detailed comparison of two works of art encountered at the Musei Capitoline.
The pair of artworks located in the courtyard of the Musei Capitoline is the "Colossal Statue of Sitting Rome: Cesi Roma" and "Colossal statue of Constantine: head." The "Colossus of Constantine" located at the courtyard of Musei Capitoline is a "huge acrolithic statute" of Constantine the Great, the Roman emperor(“Musei Capitolini - Google Arts & Culture”). The statute of Constantine the great is in portions which are located separately at the Musei Capitolini courtyard in the "Palazzo dei Conservatori"(“Musei Capitolini - Google Arts & Culture”). The statue of the head of Constantine the Great is dated to the year 312-315 AD, and it is documented to have been carved from white marble which applied to both the legs and arms which are located at the courtyard area of Musei Capitolini.1
Source: Musei Capitolini
The other statue of interest is the portico "Statue of Rome" which is also identified as "Rome Cesi." The statue of "Cesi Roma" is positioned between the sculptures of the "Barbarian kings prisoners" at the courtyard of the Musei Capitolini(“Colossal Statue of Sitting Rome: ‘Cesi Roma’ | Musei Capitolini”). The sculpture of Cesi Roma is described as being made of "grey Morato marble" which historians suggest that it can be dated to the periods of Hadrian (117-138 AC). Additional data suggest the period in history for the sculpture is from the 5th century BC from the Greek original. The sculpture of "Statue of Rome" is associated with Clement XI Albani who is said to have purchased the sculpture from the Cesi collection (1700-21)(“Colossal Statue of Sitting Rome: ‘Cesi Roma’ | Musei Capitolini”). In the description of the sculptures of Constantine the Great, there is a representation of the "hieratic emperor style" which is usually described as the Constantinian style. The sculpture of the head of Constantine follows this hieratic emperor style in the design while from the rest of the parts of the statue there is a naturalistic aspect that has been used in the design(Varner 51). The sculpture of Constantine's head is believed to have been designed with the purpose of displaying the level of transcendence of the Emperor rising above the natural order and the human sphere.
There have been suggestions that the sculpture of Constantine was reshaped from a previous portrait with speculations being that of the "deified Hadrian" located in the Temple of Venus. There is also a different belief that the sculpture of Constantine was reshaped from that of his rival Maxentius based on the physical attributes of the sculpture where it is part of an acrolith of 12m (40ft) high(“Colossal Statue of Constantine: Head | Musei Capitolini”). We can highlight that the acrolith is documented as a massive statue that was designed using wood in making its figure, but the other parts of the body such as the feet, head, and hands were made using marble. The Constantine head sculpture is said to have been made using this acrolith. We can understand the significance of the features of the statue of Constantine the Great based on the design of the figure of the sculpture(“Colossal Statue of Constantine: Head | Musei Capitolini”). The wood which was used in designing the rest of the body was carefully concealed through either gilding or by draper since from the statue located at the courtyard of the Musei Capitolini, only the marble parts of the statue of Constantine can be seen.
The sculpture of the Roma Cesi supports the similar descriptions as in the case of the sculptures of Constantine the Great, and there is an enlarged design to signify the level of the figures above the naturalistic human sphere(Varner 53). On the "Colossal Statue of Sitting Rome," there is an image below which is of reduced size and the one of "Sitting Rome" depicts the level of the hierarchy(“Musei Capitolini - Google Arts & Culture”). The sculpture of the head of Constantine does not focus on detail, but it displays symbolism and abstract which was a trend during the periods of Late Roman portraiture. The sculpture was designed under the same concept, and it is evident from the emphasized facial features that there is an element of individualistic portraiture. From the features of the sculpture of Constantine the Great at the courtyard of the Musei Capitolini, there is a representation of Constantine as an "effigy of a god"(“Colossal Statue of Constantine: Head | Musei Capitolini”) which might be a misconception due to the intended goal to show a reflection of a Christian deity.
Modern paradigms in art differ from the ancient art like in this case the art collection at the Musei Capitolini. From the art pieces described in the paper, ancient art was focused on showing the levels of power and the associated humankind with goodness like the two sculptures chosen both show how such figures as "Constantine the Great" and "Cesi Roma" were viewed in a god figure based on the art design(Varner 57). However, modern paradigms of art use a different approach where it focuses on empowering and influencing creativity as opposed to imposing levels of power.
Work Cited
“Colossal Statue of Constantine: Head | Musei Capitolini.” Musei Capitolini, 2017, http://www.museicapitolini.org/en/percorsi/percorsi_per_sale/museo_del_palazzo_dei_conservatori/cortile/statua_colossale_di_costantino_testa.
“Colossal Statue of Sitting Rome: ‘Cesi Roma’ | Musei Capitolini.” Musei Capitolini, http://www.museicapitolini.org/en/percorsi/percorsi_per_sale/museo_del_palazzo_dei_conservatori/cortile/statua_colossale_di_roma_sedente_roma_cesi. Accessed 30 May 2018.
“Musei Capitolini - Google Arts & Culture.” Google Cultural Institute, https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/musei-capitolini. Accessed 30 May 2018.
Varner, E. “Maxentius, Constantine, and Hadrian: Images and the Expropriation of Imperial Identity.” Using Images in Late Antiquity, 2014, pp. 48–77.
