A Silent Greeting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Oil on Wood, circa 1889. The image shows a Roman Soldier leaving flowers in the lap of his lover to surprise her when she wakes. Alma-Tadema was famous for painting the everyday lives of people from bygone eras, So as to circumvent the cliche of painting Ancient Rome as a land of Gods and Heroics. His visual style is stunningly realistic, verging on the photographic. Photo via Newscom