The Roses of Heliogabalus | Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | 1888 Gustave Courbet "The Lyricist" by Egon Schiele

"The Lyricist" by Egon Schiele

the goddess of love

standing on the edge of the cliff

Luminais focuses on the eerie stillness that follows: the boys lie motionless on rich fabrics

The Roses of Heliogabalus | Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema | 1888 Gustave Courbet "The Lyricist" by Egon SchieleAbout 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