In ad 41, the debauched roman emperor caligula was murdered. Gratus, a member of the praetorian, draws a curtain aside to reveal the terrified claudius who is hailed as emperor on the spot. Beneath the herm in the background, lie the bodies of caligula, his wife caesonia, their young daughter and of a bystander. The blood stains on the herm denote the struggle that has transpired as well as the setting, the hermaeum, an apartment in the palace where claudius had sought refuge. Object Type: painting. Date: 1871. Place of creation: Spain. Dimensions: height: 86 cm (33.8 in); width: 174.3 cm (68.6 in); Framed height: 128.9 cm (50.7 in); width: 218.4 cm (85.9 in); depth: 14 cm (5.5 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Walters Art Museum. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, RA, OM - A Roman Emperor (Claudius) - Walters 37165
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