In The Roses of Heliogabalus, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema depicts one of the most infamous moments in the life of Emperor Heliogabalus. His lifestyle must have been that ridiculously unacceptable because, after only four years of ruling, Emperor Heliogabalus was assassinated by his family, including his own grandmother! He was an extremely unpopular emperor, and he eventually alienated everyone supporting his regime.

Frequent scandals surrounded Heliogabalus due to his decadent lifestyle and his transgressions against sexual and religious norms. In his short four-year reign he scarred Roman society and the annals of world history with his extremely debauched lifestyle. Heliogabalus was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 218 to 222 CE. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, The Roses of Heliogabalus, 1888, private collection. Emperor Heliogabalus was definitely a pitfall worthy of note. Therefore, with a joyful backward glance, the Victorians reflected on Roman Imperial history with its peaks and pitfalls. They believed they brought civilization to the uncivilized, manners to the unmannered, and morality to the immoral. The British were proud of their international power, uniting vast regions under the British flag.īecause of their vast dominion and unrivaled prosperity, the Victorians viewed themselves as the inheritors of the former Roman Empire. The Victorians were the undisputed rulers of one-fourth of the world’s land, and the phrase, “The sun never sets on the British Empire,” was penned to describe such a global domain that practically had territories in every time zone. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema painted The Roses of Heliogabalus in 1888 when the British Empire was at its peak of power and influence. The Roman emperor lies nonchalantly, drinks his wine, and observes as his guests below are smothered to death by rose petals. The Roses of Heliogabalus is no exception, as it depicts the infamous party scene hosted by Emperor Heliogabalus. Academic paintings were all the rage, and they frequently used juicy historical anecdotes for the basis of their subjects.

While the late Victorian world was morally prudish and clad in dark velvets, late Victorian paintings were often morally bankrupt and clad in light silks.

Many other sins are depicted alongside these cardinal vices making this an extremely wicked painting. Three of the Seven Deadly Sins are depicted in Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s The Roses of Heliogabalus.

Lawrence alma tadema artwork