The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius

The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius
The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius
Artist	John William Waterhouse
Year	1883
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	117 cm × 202 cm (46 in × 80 in)
Location	Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

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 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".

References[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

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[1] "johnwilliamwaterhouse.com: The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius". Archived from the original on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2013.

[Hobson-2] Hobson, Anthony. 1989. J. W. Waterhouse. Oxford: Phaidon Christie's. pages 25, 28-29. ISBN 0-7148-8066-3

[3] Art Gallery of South Australia: Collection

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[3]

v t e John William Waterhouse
List of paintings
Paintings	The Unwelcome Companion: A Street Scene in Cairo (1873) Sleep and His Half-Brother Death (1874) The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius (1883) Consulting the Oracle (1884) Saint Eulalia (1885) The Magic Circle (1886) The Lady of Shalott (1888) Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses (1891) Ulysses and the Sirens (1891) Circe Invidiosa (1892) The Lady of Shalott Looking at Lancelot (1894) Ophelia (1894) Hylas and the Nymphs (1896) Pandora (1896) Mariana in the South (1897) The Siren (c. 1900) The Crystal Ball (1902) Boreas (1903) Echo and Narcissus (1903) Jason and Medea (1907) Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May (1908) Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May (1909) The Sorceress (1915) I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Said the Lady of Shalott (1915)
Related	Esther Kenworthy Waterhouse (wife) Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Commons: John William Waterhouse

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References[edit]