The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius is a painting by John William Waterhouse completed in 1883.[1] The painting depicts Honorius feeding birds which are on the rug in front of him; the dark colours of the rug and his clothes define a space. Separated from him and the birds are the councillors seeking his attention, and who along with the attendant are dressed in paler shades.[2]
Honorius was named Western Emperor at the age of 10, after the death of his father Theodosius I. During his reign, from 393 to 423, the territory of Western Roman Empire was invaded by foreign tribes and the city of Rome was sacked by the Visigoths. Honorius is considered one of the weakest Roman emperors and one of the factors in the empire's demise. Waterhouse shows him here with his childhood favorite hobby, instead of promptly attending to affairs of state, and may be alluding to an apocryphal story, mentioned by Procopius in his History of the Wars where, on hearing the news that Rome had "perished", Honorius was initially shocked, thinking the news was in reference to a favourite chicken he had named "Roma".
favourites, emperor, honorius, painting, john, william, waterhouse, completed, 1883, painting, depicts, honorius, feeding, birds, which, front, dark, colours, clothes, define, space, separated, from, birds, councillors, seeking, attention, along, with, attenda. The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius is a painting by John William Waterhouse completed in 1883 1 The painting depicts Honorius feeding birds which are on the rug in front of him the dark colours of the rug and his clothes define a space Separated from him and the birds are the councillors seeking his attention and who along with the attendant are dressed in paler shades 2 The Favourites of the Emperor HonoriusArtistJohn William WaterhouseYear1883MediumOil on canvasDimensions117 cm 202 cm 46 in 80 in LocationArt Gallery of South Australia AdelaideStudy for The Favourites of the Emperor HonoriusThe Favourites of the Emperor Honorius is part of the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia which also owns Waterhouse s 1892 Circe Invidiosa 3 Honorius was named Western Emperor at the age of 10 after the death of his father Theodosius I During his reign from 393 to 423 the territory of Western Roman Empire was invaded by foreign tribes and the city of Rome was sacked by the Visigoths Honorius is considered one of the weakest Roman emperors and one of the factors in the empire s demise Waterhouse shows him here with his childhood favorite hobby instead of promptly attending to affairs of state and may be alluding to an apocryphal story mentioned by Procopius in his History of the Wars where on hearing the news that Rome had perished Honorius was initially shocked thinking the news was in reference to a favourite chicken he had named Roma See also editList of paintings by John William WaterhouseReferences edit johnwilliamwaterhouse com The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius Archived from the original on 26 November 2012 Retrieved 15 January 2013 Hobson Anthony 1989 J W Waterhouse Oxford Phaidon Christie s pages 25 28 29 ISBN 0 7148 8066 3 Art Gallery of South Australia Collection nbsp This article about a nineteenth century painting is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius amp oldid 1151333033, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
