Flowers are the beloved subjects of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, while The Roses of Heliogabalus could confirm this judgment. In the common knowledge of people, roses are the symbols of romantic love. However, in this painting, a flakey theme is hidden behind.
The Roses of Heliogabalus
In fact, Heliogabalus is a notorious emperor who is cruel and intemperate in ancient Rome. One day, he invited a large number of guests to have dinner together. Just when he was mellow, rose's petals dropped from the sky and spattered around. Unexpectedly, when everyone was admiring the romantic ideas, more and more petals appeared, even worse, some guests were embedded by the petals and could not even breathe. But the emperor was continuing watching without any actions. His mother, minions and concubines sit beside him. They did like the emperor.
The painter combined human with rose's petals, and his painting skills are extremely created in order to arouse the grand visual effects. The tyrant in the painting is loudly dressed, actually, his image is not imaginary. According to the portrait of Heliogabalus in museum, he created this painting. This magnificence and death, roses and bloody subject reflects the corruption of Rome, in the meantime, it implies the luxurious indulgence of Victorian society.
The whole picture was described gorgeously by the painter. However, in contrast, the reality was rather cruel. The painter didn't describe the ugly world directly, instead he expressed it by the composition and colors. In the face of this grand painting, what attracts people seems to be the cozy petals. The whole picture was glutted with romantic pink, especially the shock feeling. In a way, we can sense the constrained force gradually.
