Study for “The Decadence of the Romans”

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Artist: Thomas Couture (French, 1815–1879)
Medium: Black and white chalk, on blue paper (now discolored)
Size: 35.2 × 60.3 cm (13 7/8 × 23 3/4 in.)
Culture: French
Museum: J. Paul Getty Museum
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

A group of debauched revelers partake in a festive gathering in a colonnaded hall. Couture made the large chalk drawing as a preparatory study for his monumental 1847 painting, The Decadence of the Romans (Musée d'Orsay, Paris). Described by Couture specialist Albert Boime as “the only significant compositional study that exists for the work,” the sheet is the most complete graphic example of the artist’s vision for the final painting. Couture conceived of the classical scene as a commentary on what he saw as the excess and corruption of current French society under the July Monarchy.

In the catalogue for the 1847 Salon, where the painting was exhibited, Couture conveyed the moral message with a quote from the Roman satirist Juvenal: “Crueller than war, vice fell upon Rome and avenged the conquered world.” The composition is filled with semi-nude partygoers, some continuing to carouse and imbibe while others have surrendered to exhaustion. The stoic Roman sculptures in the background serve as a stark contrast to the behavior of the inebriated guests.

Text: J. Paul Getty Trust, CC BY 4.0.