The Late Empire: Honorius

Many 19th-century artists depicted the decline and fall of ancient Rome as a parable of moral and political decay. Such is the case with Jean-Paul Laurens’ vivid portrayal of the boy-emperor Honorius Flavius (384-423). Crowned as leader of the crumbling empire at age 11, he appears here as a helpless innocent—as overwhelmed by his throne and regalia as by the forces of history. A mere child, his feet don’t even reach the floor.

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