HTIA_LA_004 THE ROSES OF HELIOGABALUS _ LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA 1888 / UNA-PALOMA BLANCA 2025 #HärraTeedeniLilleaed #LilleMEEZ
The Roses of Heliogabalus is an oil painting by the Anglo-Dutch artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, from 1888. It depicts the young Roman emperor Elagabalus (203–222 AD) hosting a banquet. It is held in a private collection.
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he painting depicts a (probably invented) episode in the life of the Roman emperor Elagabalus, also known as Heliogabalus, taken from the Augustan History. Although the Latin refers to "violets and other flowers", Alma-Tadema depicts Elagabalus smothering his unsuspecting guests with rose petals released from a false ceiling. The original reference is this:
Oppressit in tricliniis versatilibus parasitos suos violis et floribus, sic ut animam aliqui efflaverint, cum erepere ad summum non possent.[3]
In a banqueting-room with a reversible ceiling he once buried his guests in violets and other flowers, so that some were actually smothered to death, being unable to crawl out to the top.[4]
In his notes to the Augustan History, Magie notes that "Nero did this also (Suetonius, Nero, xxxi), and a similar ceiling in the house of Trimalchio is described in Petronius, Sat., lx." (Satyricon).[5]
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The Roses of Heliogabalus (1888), oil on canvas, 132.1 × 213.7 cm, private collection.
As it was painted during the winter, Tadema arranged to have roses sent weekly from the French Riviera for four months to ensure the accuracy of each petal.
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