''The Romans in their Decadence'' (, also translated as ''Romans During the Decadence'' or ''Romans in the Decadence of the Empire'') is a painting by the French artist

Thomas Couture Thomas Couture (; 21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught many notable contemporary figures of the art world, such as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chava ...

, depicting the Roman decadence. It debuted as the most highly acclaimed work of the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

of 1847, a year before the

1848 Revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

which toppled the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

.Linda Nochlin, ''Gustave Courbet: A Study of Style and Society'' (New York: Garland Publishing, 1976), 129-30. Reminiscent of the style of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

, it is typical of the French 'classic' style between 1850 and 1900 today analyzed within the wider current of

academic art Academic art, academicism, or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. This method extended its influence throughout the Western world over several centuries, from its origins i ...

. The exhibition catalogue included a quote from the poet

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...

: ''Nunc patimur longae pacis mala; savior armis Luxuria incubuit, victumque ulciscitur orbem.'' ("Now do we suffer the evils of prolonged peace; luxury more ruthless than the sword broods over us, and avenges a conquered world." A picture of Rome in its decline.) It now belongs to the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

in Paris.“Musée d’Orsay: Thomas Couture Romans during the Decadence.”
Accessed March 3, 2020. . It was etched by Edmond Hédouin (1820–1889).

Description

Couture's composition depicts the perceived moral and political decline of the later

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

through the inebriated and exhausted aftermath of a large orgy, contrasting the weakness and degeneracy of its participants against the statues of gods or emperors proudly displayed around the classical Roman architecture of the painting's setting. Some figures continue to dance among the reclining mass while one man at the right drunkenly addresses a statue, disrespectfully hanging from its arm. Only three appear to have avoided participating in the orgy, consisting of one figure seated contemplatively upon a plinth to the left, and two upright men overlooking the scene from the right. The painting is noted for its subdued use of color and its depiction of the human body.
''Tableau de Paris : ouvrage illustré de quinze gents gravures d’après les dessins de Blanchard (Phar.), Cham, Champin, Forest (Eug.), Français, Gavarni, Gérard-Séguin, J. J. Grandville, Lami (Eug.), Pauquet, Renard, Roussel, Valentin, Vernet (Hor.), etc., etc.''
vol. 2, p. 81. Paris, Paulin et Le Chevalier, 1853. See als
vol. 1
/ref>Bertrand Lançon, Les Romains, Paris, Cavalier bleu, coll. « idées reçues », 2015, 127 p., 18 cm (ISBN 978-2-84670-121-1)

Reception

''The Romans in their Decadence'' was one of the two most critically successful works to be exhibited at the salon that year, alongside ''

Woman Bitten by a Serpent ''Woman Bitten by a Serpent'' (French: ') is an 1847 marble sculpture by Auguste Clésinger (1814–1883), now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. It depicts a violently contorted nude among a bed of flowers, with a small snake latched onto her left ...

''. Renowned critic

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

compared the realism of the painting to styles practiced in Northern Europe at the time rather than Couture's native France,Théophile Gautier, Salon de 1847, Paris, Collection XIX, 2016 while Edmond Texier praised aspects of the work but ultimately considered the painting's scope insufficient to capture the tragedy and dishonor of the era.

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

considered the painting's message an attack on the republic and brutally condemned the work.Jean-Paul Bouillon (dir.), La Critique d’art en France, 1850-1900 : actes du colloque de Clermont-Ferrand, 25, 26 et 27 mai 1987, Paris, CIEREC, 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romans in their Decadence 1847 paintings Paintings in the Musée d'Orsay Paintings set in ancient Rome Prostitution in paintings Works about alcohol