The favourites of Emperor Honorius 1883

Editor: This is "The Favourites of Emperor Honorius," an 1883 oil painting by John William Waterhouse. It gives off a powerful air of decadent disinterest. All those bowed figures and the Emperor seems so detached, more interested in feeding his pigeons! What do you make of this scene? Curator: It’s a marvelous tableau, isn’t it? The artist, Waterhouse, clearly wants us to consider the implications of unchecked power. The muted colours lend the scene a sort of faded glory, don’t you think? I find it speaks volumes about priorities… Emperor Honorius fiddles while Rome threatens to burn, quite literally, with the Visigoths at the gates. And what are your impressions? Do the artist’s choices strike you as effective? Editor: Yes, the color palette definitely reinforces that sense of things falling apart, a sort of… dustiness. And it’s quite a contrast, this elaborate setting and then…pigeons. A jarring note! It definitely underlines his detachment. Curator: Precisely. Consider the historical context too! Waterhouse painted this nearly 1400 years *after* Honorius lived. It's a Victorian take on Roman decline, perhaps a warning mirrored by contemporary anxieties of a failing empire, then Great Britain! Art often holds a mirror, eh? Editor: Absolutely. It's like looking into a very ornate, slightly tarnished mirror! So much for me to reflect on… Curator: Yes, and Waterhouse provides quite the reflective surface to get lost in. A beautiful disaster rendered in oil.