The Roses of Heliogabalus  1888

Depicting a story that was not one of heroes or imperial glory in [i]The Roses of Heliogabalus[/i]. [br]The story of the short-lived but cruel reign of the young emperor Heliogabalus (203 - 22 AD) provided the artist with an ideal subject. The opposition between the beauty of the scene and the atrocity being enacted is where the strength of this striking work lies. [i]O...