The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire
by TURNER, Joseph Mallord William, Oil on canvas, 170 x 239 cm
Turner exhibited a pair of pictures on the theme of the rise and fall of Carthage soon after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. These reflect both on the history of that doomed empire and on the current condition of Britain; the fading sunset grandeur of The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire was more a warning of the fate that might ultimately follow British complacency in victory than a comment on defeated France.