ce between the worlds of paganism and Christianity, an equation demonstrated everywhere in official art" (Vermeule 169).
Some scholars claim that "there was no system to Constantine's borrowings" (Vermeule 168). But others hold that Constantine needed to consolidate his position as the restorer of stability and the logical continuation of the imperial tradition. Thus his selection of a Trajanic frieze (perhaps from some part of the Forum), some roundels from a monuments of Hadrian's, and several panels from an arch dedicated to Marcus Aurelius seems "appropriate to the image the emperor wanted to create" (Strong 277). In addition, the faces of the previous emperors were recarved to resemble Constantine in several cases. The borrowings supplement contemporary work in the friezes and the figures on the bases and in the spandrels. It is from the contrast between the style of the borrowed pieces and the new carving that the Arch takes on its importance as a document in the history of stylistic change in the fourth century. Yet, despite the almost
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