Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius Chlorus and Galerius.
After years of unrest, the four rulers were jointly in power of the Roman Empire from 282 CE; but rivalries led to the collapse of the Tetrarchy by 313. Their poses and similarity to each other is a display of political unity, just as the Empire was splitting into two halves, eastern and western.
Originally made for the Imperial Palace in Constantinople (Istanbul), the Tetrarchs were plundered by the Venetians in the thirteenth century and have remained ever since in St Mark’s Square.
This cast emulates porphyry, the expensive and unusual Egyptian stone used only for sculptures of emperors
In situ, St Mark’s Basilica Venice
Robert Cook bequest. Purchased from Munich Institute for Classical Archaeology, 23 May 2003
Kleiner: Roman Sculpture, 399
Originally in Constantinople