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Source Description
The Roman emperor Constantine the Great (ca. AD 275-337) defeated his rivals for control of Rome in a crucial battle at the Milvian Bridge over the Tiber River in 312 CE. According to the christian writer Eusebius, in his Life of Constantine, the emperor experienced a vision in which a cross of light appeared in the sky accompanied by words in Greek that could be translated as "in this sign you will conquer." this was the beginning of his conversion to Christianity. Constantine would subsequently establish Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.The composition was taken from a famous 16th-century fresco by Giulio Romano in the Vatican Palace that was well known through engravings. The painting was most likely done for an Italian client in Rome where there was a ready demand for small cabinet-sized works by Flemish painters depicting Roman subjects.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
28405
label
Constantine the Great at the Milvian Bridge
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
28405
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Constantine the Great at the Milvian Bridge
description
The Roman emperor Constantine the Great (ca. AD 275-337) defeated his rivals for control of Rome in a crucial battle at the Milvian Bridge over the Tiber River in 312 CE. According to the christian writer Eusebius, in his Life of Constantine, the emperor experienced a vision in which a cross of light appeared in the sky accompanied by words in Greek that could be translated as "in this sign you will conquer." this was the beginning of his conversion to Christianity. Constantine would subsequently establish Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.The composition was taken from a famous 16th-century fresco by Giulio Romano in the Vatican Palace that was well known through engravings. The painting was most likely done for an Italian client in Rome where there was a ready demand for small cabinet-sized works by Flemish painters depicting Roman subjects.
provenance
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1640 (Baroque)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
paintings
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
21.6
height
30.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 8 1/2 x W: 12 in. (21.6 x 30.5 cm)
Source extras
med
oil on copper
creator_ids
3860
6505
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5bab89dd4a93966e