Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs, c. 300 CE, Roman, porphyry, height: 129.5 cm, Venice, St. Mark’s Basilica (one heel is located in Istanbul, Istanbul Archaeology Museum).

This sculpture group depicts the Four Tetrarchs, the four rulers of the Roman Empire as established by Diocletian. The rulers were divided into two groups: the augusti (Diocletian and Maximian) and the caesares (Galerius and Constantius I). There is scholarly disagreement over the identities of the specific figures, but it is generally thought that the two rulers of the Eastern Empire (Diocletian and Galerius) form one pair with the Western rulers (Maximian and Constantius) forming the second. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the augusti and caesares are shown paired. The use of porphyry, a stone long associated with imperium due to its rarity and its purple hue, was a specific and important choice. This stone is often associated with imperial sarcophagi, including that of Helena, the mother of Constantine I (wife of Constantius). Beyond this, the specific shade of purple continues to be associated with the emperor throughout the history of Byzantium, with Porphyrogennetos (Πορφυρογέννητος, literally “born in the purple”) denoting members of the Byzantine royal family who were born while their parent was emperor. A famous bearer is Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913-59). The sculpture of the Four Tetrarchs was dismissed by many earlier art historians, who found fault with the stylistic deviations from classical Roman sculpture. The original location of the statue is unknown; however, it was most likely moved to Constantinople by Constantine after 328. During the sack of Constantinople in 1204, the statue was among numerous treasures brought back to Venice. It was fitted to the façade of San Marco, where it remains. The missing portion of a figure’s foot was found in Istanbul in the 1960s and is currently in the collection of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

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