The Roses of Heliogabalus | Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | 1888 Gustave Courbet celebrating the universal language of

celebrating the universal language of dance as a symbol of human expression and connection

flowing lines that seamlessly blend into the petals

barely breaking through the clouds

standing on the edge of the cliff

The Bell of Huesca (1880)

The Roses of Heliogabalus | Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | 1888 Gustave Courbet celebrating the universal language ofAbout the artwork: The Roses of Heliogabalus (1888) by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema is one of the most opulent and unsettling masterpieces of Victorian classicism, blending beauty with horror. Inspired by accounts from the Roman historian Aelius Lampridius, the painting depicts the young Emperor Heliogabalus hosting a lavish banquet where guests are suffocated under a cascade of rose petalsa chilling display of decadence and cruelty. Alma Tademas