Tetrarch Pair
Title
Tetrarch Pair
Date
305 BC
Artist or Workshop
Unknown
Materials
Egyptian Porphyry
Height of the work
4'3" tall
Provenience
Constantinople (Istanbul), Philadelphion (possibly)
Current Location
St. Marks, Venice, Italy
Sitter Biography
The Roman Empire was ruled by a tetrarchy starting in 293, consisting of two Augusti (senior emperors) and two Caesars (junior emperors). The empire was divided into two territories, Western and Eastern and each was ruled by one Augustus and one Caesar. This statues figures features Diocletian and Maximian as Augusti and Galerius and Julius Constantius as Caesars.
Description and Significance
Description:
The statue features four figures, all very stout and bulky. The figures are very block like, differing from the previous idealized Greco-Roman works. The figures are stiff and ridged, with a simply cut linear form that is strictly decorative. There is drapery on the figures, but it does not reveal the structure of the body. The figures are all dressed in armor and all four figures hold a great sword with an eagle hilt. The faces of the figures are repetitive, and only differ in facial hair. The eyes are trancelike and are carved rigidly. The figures proportions are not naturalistic. The heads are proportioned incorrectly and sit on top of narrow bodies. There are two pairs of figures, the figure with the beard holding the other figure in an embrace. The figures are turned in towards one another. The statue is very well preserved, the only piece missing is a left foot and part of the ankle of the extreme right figure. All four figures are carved out of one piece of stone.
Significance:
The word tetrarchy comes from the Greek tetrarchia or "leadership of four". It describes a form of government where power is divided among 4 rulers. The figures are identified as the members of the first tetrarchy established in 293 by Diocletian and Maximian as "Augusti" and Galerius and Julius Constantius as "Caesars". The tetrarchy lasted until 313 and divided the empire in two. Power was shared in this system and the public image portrayed unity among the empire. The tetrarchs appeared identical in all official portraits, with only a beard distinguishing the Augustus from the Caesar. They are all shown in military garb. The group, divided into two pairs are embracing, uniting the Augusti and Caesars. This suggests unity and stability. The material, porphyry (coming from Egypt), symbolizes permanence and rigidity. This implies expected eternity. This was a rare and difficult to obtain material, and was reserved for imperial use. The style of this piece is extremely geometric and symmetrical, styles utilized by the tetrarchs to oppose the previous individualized styles. This new style expresses valor, harmony and unification. This was an attempt to settle the fears of anxieties born from the civil strife of the short-lived previous emperors. Their image, far from individualistic, is a manufactured representation of the revolutionary political system. In the bodies of the sculptures, we lose the concept of contrapposto and the understanding of musculature. There is a rejection of the naturalism that had come before. This loss of detail could be because of the stones density, or the purposeful stray from the prior styles.
The statue features four figures, all very stout and bulky. The figures are very block like, differing from the previous idealized Greco-Roman works. The figures are stiff and ridged, with a simply cut linear form that is strictly decorative. There is drapery on the figures, but it does not reveal the structure of the body. The figures are all dressed in armor and all four figures hold a great sword with an eagle hilt. The faces of the figures are repetitive, and only differ in facial hair. The eyes are trancelike and are carved rigidly. The figures proportions are not naturalistic. The heads are proportioned incorrectly and sit on top of narrow bodies. There are two pairs of figures, the figure with the beard holding the other figure in an embrace. The figures are turned in towards one another. The statue is very well preserved, the only piece missing is a left foot and part of the ankle of the extreme right figure. All four figures are carved out of one piece of stone.
Significance:
The word tetrarchy comes from the Greek tetrarchia or "leadership of four". It describes a form of government where power is divided among 4 rulers. The figures are identified as the members of the first tetrarchy established in 293 by Diocletian and Maximian as "Augusti" and Galerius and Julius Constantius as "Caesars". The tetrarchy lasted until 313 and divided the empire in two. Power was shared in this system and the public image portrayed unity among the empire. The tetrarchs appeared identical in all official portraits, with only a beard distinguishing the Augustus from the Caesar. They are all shown in military garb. The group, divided into two pairs are embracing, uniting the Augusti and Caesars. This suggests unity and stability. The material, porphyry (coming from Egypt), symbolizes permanence and rigidity. This implies expected eternity. This was a rare and difficult to obtain material, and was reserved for imperial use. The style of this piece is extremely geometric and symmetrical, styles utilized by the tetrarchs to oppose the previous individualized styles. This new style expresses valor, harmony and unification. This was an attempt to settle the fears of anxieties born from the civil strife of the short-lived previous emperors. Their image, far from individualistic, is a manufactured representation of the revolutionary political system. In the bodies of the sculptures, we lose the concept of contrapposto and the understanding of musculature. There is a rejection of the naturalism that had come before. This loss of detail could be because of the stones density, or the purposeful stray from the prior styles.
References
Trentinella, Rosemarie. “Roman Portrait Sculpture: The Stylistic Cycle.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ropo2/hd_ropo2.htm (October 2003)
"Portraits of the Four Tetrarchs." Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/late-empire/v/tetrarchs.
"Portraits of the Four Tetrarchs." Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/late-empire/v/tetrarchs.
Contributor
Anna Nielsen
Citation
Unknown , “Tetrarch Pair,” Digital Portrait "Basket" - ARTH488A - "Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture", accessed May 20, 2024, https://classicalchopped2.artinterp.org/omeka/items/show/50.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.