Amongst the many famous and popular pictures by Alma Tadema it is a little difficult to know which to select, and our object has been to make a representative collection, while avoiding those which are already familiar to all through the windows of the print shops. A work that shows him in one of his most tragic moments, a mood he does not often exhibit, for this master of sunny nature prefers to paint sunny themes, is the _Ave Caesar! Iò Saturnalia!_ The story of Caligula's tragic ending and the election of Claudius as Emperor seems to have had a curious attraction for the artist. He painted the theme three times, though with considerable variants, first as the _Claudius_, then as _The Roman Emperor_, and finally, and in its finest version, as the _Ave Caesar! Iò Saturnalia!_ The first of the series on the subject simply styled _Claudius_ though full of life, solemnity and graphic force, was surpassed by its successors, into which the artist infused more of his wonderful genius for archæological indivination. This first Claudius belonged to a set of pictures ordered from Alma Tadema by the dealer M. Gambart. The second, _The Roman Emperor_, was painted after his removal to London. In this new version Alma Tadema also adopted a scheme of colour that was absolutely new to him, to the consternation, it is said, of some of his clients, who saw in this departure an alarming tendency towards pre-Raphaelitism. According to them it was distinctly unfair to the public for this artist to change his style. Where were the white marbles, the dresses of pale, soft tints to which they were accustomed in his canvases? Here he had boldly introduced a girl of the Roman people with hair of pure copper tints, and even the corpse was clad in a dress of brilliant blue and vivid purple, while the purity of the marble pavement was stained not only with the blood of the slain, but was also a confusion of restless coloured mosaics that distracted the eye from the picture's main purpose. Criticism waxed hot around this canvas which seemed to threaten a revolution in the artist's methods.