Like other academic artists, Couture draws a subject from ancient Rome, but chooses decadence, not heroism.
Second Empire
Seeing and being seen: the opera was a place of voyeurism and spectacle among the prosperous classes of the city.
Charles Garnier, The Paris Opéra
Haussman bulldozed the ancient, winding streets of the medieval city to bring law, order, and hygiene to Paris.
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