Romans of the Decadence

More savage than war, luxury burdened (Rome) and avenged the conquered world. — Juvenal, Satire 6 A trope of Roman literature was to lament the decay of moral standards, comparing the noble past with the debauched present, often using the excesses of banqueting to illustrate the point. Inspired by the first-to-second-century CE satirist Juvenal, Couture contrasted the orgy in the foreground with the dignified sculptures in the background as an allegory for the degeneration of his own time. Based on real sculptures of famous Romans, the statues look scornfully down on the proceedings, their heroic nudity contrasting with that of the revelers, which is anything but. Some of the celebrants recline, as was common at Roman dinner parties; others mirror the statues’ poses or offer toasts to them. Symbols of the wine god Bacchus in the scene connect the proceedings to wild Bacchanalia, while the two philosophers at the right convey the disapproval of civilized society.