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Secondary sourcePainting1247

Sylvester I and Constantine Fresco, Santi Quattro Coronati

Unknown medieval artist in Rome · 1247

A medieval fresco in Rome showing Constantine with Pope Sylvester, reflecting later legends about Constantine's baptism.

Depicts Constantine as part of a medieval legend about his baptism by Pope Sylvester I.

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Medieval fresco in a painted frame showing a seated, haloed pope on the left holding a cross-topped staff and raising a hand, facing a standing, crowned emperor in ornate jeweled robes who holds a parasol-like canopy. Behind them a horseman on a white horse rides past a walled city with towers and onlookers, and a figure stands on the left.
Fresco of Sylvester I and Constantine, San Silvestro Chapel, Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome, 1247.

About this source

What it is

This fresco, painted by an unknown medieval artist in 1247, decorates the San Silvestro Chapel at Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome. It shows a seated pope and a standing crowned emperor, understood to represent Pope Sylvester I and Constantine the Great.

Why it matters

The fresco reflects medieval legends that grew up around Constantine's conversion to Christianity, long after his actual lifetime. Images like this were used by the medieval Church to strengthen claims about the relationship between emperors and popes.

Look closer

  • What symbols of power do you see on each figure, and what might they be meant to show about the relationship between pope and emperor?
  • Why would a medieval painter show a scene from centuries earlier, and what does that tell you about how legends are formed?
  • What does the fresco leave out about what we actually know happened in Constantine's life?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Constantine the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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