Re-Creating the Colossus of Constantine

Re-creating the Colossus of Constantine 2022 Factum Foundation in collaboration with Fondazione Prada & Musei Capitolini for the exhibition RECYCLING BEAUTY.
Curated by Salvatore Settis and Anna Anguissola.

Video by Oscar Parasiego.
3d Animation by Jordi Garcia Pons.

The re-creation of the Colossus of Constantine has been a colossal project carried on by Factum Foundation team for the exhibition at Fondazione Prada “Recycling Beauty”. An exhibition that aims to highlight the moment when an ancient artifact transitions from being abandoned among ruins to being valued through its reuse. The project presented a challenging puzzle, with only ten fragments at our disposal, representing a mere fraction of the entire sculpture. In the accompanying video, you can see the process we used to recreate the Colossus.

My role as a 3D sculptor at Factum was intricate: I had to create a three-dimensional representation of what was lost based on documentation and guidance from Claudio Parisi Presicce, the Capitoline Superintendent of Cultural Heritage, and the Musei Capitolini’s expert team. Scanning each fragment was crucial to manipulate them as 3D models in Zbrush software, where I could move and rotate them freely in a virtual environment. I placed each fragment on a digital framework I designed, using scanned statues in similar poses as references. These references included Emperor Claudius as Jupiter from the Ara Pacis Museum, a seated Jupiter from the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, and a Hercules from the Museo Nazionale Romano. A coin from Nicomedia, dated 321-322, provided insights into the Colossus’s pose, showing him seated with a sphere in one hand, a staff in the other, and the paludamentum draped over his shoulder to the lower body. One interesting detail is the index finger of the right hand, which shows signs of a modern restoration. We speculated that the index finger was bent to hold the staff, following Roman sculpture conventions. However, questions remain about whether the right hand could realistically hold the staff, as the lower part of the hand lacks the necessary space for the staff’s cylindrical shape. Despite our diligent efforts, mysteries remain unsolved, especially concerning the calf fragment’s identity and its fit with the knee and shin fragment. Technological advancements, like 3D scanning and software, continue to be invaluable tools for investigating historical conjectures.In the end, the Colossus of Constantine serves as a compelling testament to the power of technology and human determination in unraveling the enigmas of the past, bridging the gap between ancient ruins and a renewed appreciation of our rich history.

1- (left) Statue of Jupiter at the Hermitage Museum / (right) Render of the restored Constantine sculpture / (center) Minted coin of Licinio I on the front and portrait of how Constantine the Great could have looked like – year 321-322
2- (left) Render of Claudio Imperatore, Ara Pacis Museum. One of the sculpture references´ I used to re-create the Colossus / (right) Image of a torso mirrored that could match the pose of Constantine on the minted coin.
3- (left) Render of Seated Hercules, Palazzo Altemps / (right) Render of the scanned fragments aligned with the Seated Hercules pose.
4- Render of the scanned Constantine head fragment. The splitted neck parts are from later restorations.
5- Render of the index finger 3d sculpted and bent to hold the staff.
6- Screenshot of my screen 3d sculpting in ZBrush of the left hand holding the globe / (top) Reference image of the Constantine bronze hand fragment shown in Musei Capitolini in Rome.
7- Render views of the scanned fragment that was assigned as the calf. After manipulating in all possible axis, the scanned fragment does not match that position. It still remains unknown to where it could belong in the body.