decadence and aestheticism

His films obsessively depict the visual and moral decay of aristocratic families through sumptuous cinematography and operatic grandeur, epitomizing aesthetic indulgence amid societal collapse.

His surreal explorations of Rome's nightlife and high society reveal the hollow excess and spiritual emptiness beneath glittering surfaces, celebrating beauty while critiquing decadence.

He directly engaged with aestheticism and decadence through controversial examinations of desire, violence, and beauty in films that blur art with transgression and critique consumer culture's corruption.