Colossal statue of Constantine rebuilt from ancient fragments
A COLOSSAL statue of the Roman emperor Constantine has been reconstructed by a British art expert using marble fragments that survived centuries of war, earthquakes and looting.
The 42-foot-tall statue of Constantine, who was proclaimed emperor in York after the death of his father and transferred the imperial capital from Rome to Constantinople, was unveiled yesterday on top of the Campidoglio, a hill in the heart of the Italian capital.
Experts made 3D scans of the 10 surviving fragments of the ancient statue, including its head, feet and a hand. The project was funded by Prada, the fashion house, but the costs have remained under wraps.
The fragments were discovered in the 15th century in the remains of a Roman temple and were put on display in a courtyard of the Capitoline Museums, a couple of hundred yards from where the reconstructed statue now stands.
From the 3D scans, experts were able to extrapolate and build up a digital scan of how the fourth century AD statue – known as the Colossus of Constantine – would have looked, down to the orb that the emperor held in one hand and a cloak that draped from his shoulder down to his lap.
There are plans to create a second reconstructed statue and locate it at Binchester near Bishop Auckland in County Durham, where the ancient Romans built a fort.
Factum Foundation, headed by Adam Lowe, a British art history expert, oversaw the task of digitally mapping the fragments and turning them into a replica of the original.
Based in Madrid, Factum Foundation’s experts reproduce each part of the statue in acrylic resin mixed with marble powder. They transported the pieces to Rome and erected it in a garden next to the Capitoline Museums and Rome’s Renaissance town hall.
The recreated statue has been built to last. “It is waterproof,” said Mr Lowe.
“The main issues it will face will be city grime and bird droppings, so it will need to be cleaned.
“I hope Constantine will look out over Rome for many years to come.”
‘It is waterproof. The main issues it will face will be city grime and bird droppings’