Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (January 8, 1836, Dronrijp, the Netherlands - June 25, 1912, Wiesbaden, Germany) was one of the most renowned painters of late nineteenth-century Britain. Born in Dronrijp, the Netherlands, and trained at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium, he settled in England in 1870 and spent the rest of his life there.

A classical-subject painter, he became famous for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire, with languorous figures set in fabulous marbled interiors or against a backdrop of dazzling blue Mediterranean sea and sky. Universally admired during his lifetime for his superb draftsmanship and depictions of Classical antiquity, he fell into disrepute after his death and only in the last thirty years has his work been reevaluated for its importance within nineteenth-century English art.

The Women of Amphissa is one of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's final paintings in which he portrays a dated historical event. Known for his preoccupation with quotidian views of Rome, Alma-Tadema renders these scenes with photo-realistic precision and care for the aesthetic. The Women of Amphissa is no exception. Through his archaizing views, Alma-Tadema provides Victorian society a glimpse into the classical world, allowing them to identify with its inhabitants and imagine its wonder. Amphissa was the capitol of an annual festival in honor of the god Bacchus. In 350 B.C., the territory was over-run by an army from Phocis, stirring fear that the bacchantes would become vulnerable after their celebrating to attack by the enemy soldiers. The women of Amphissa consequently stepped in to protect the sleeping bacchantes throughout the night, guarding them from being ravished by the opponent. Alma-Tadema portrays dawn at the Amphissian marketplace the morning after, its women serving food, standing watch, and caring for the exhausted Bacchantes.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Alma-Tadema

The Women of Amphissa (1887) by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (landscape)