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The Roses of Heliogabolus
1888
132 x 214 cm
oil on canvas
In this painting Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's figures are literally drowning in rose petals. The Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius - known as Heliogabolus - was notorious as one of the most debauched of the Roman leaders.
This scene retells his most infamous practical joke. At a crowded feast, a canopy above the unwitting revellers was released, showering them with thousands upon thousands of rose petals. In the painting Heliogabolus and his favoured guests look on from the top table as the rest of the company are suffocated to death.
Roses were delivered weekly to Alma-Tadema while the picture was being painted and many months after its completion his studio floor was still awash with petals.
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