Full title | Belisarius receiving Hospitality from a Peasant |
---|---|
Artist | Jean-François-Pierre Peyron |
Artist dates | 1744 - 1814 |
Series | Two Scenes from Ancient Roman History |
Date made | 1779 |
Medium and support | Oil on paper laid down on canvas |
Dimensions | 55 x 84.5 cm |
Inscription summary | Signed; Dated |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1995 |
Inventory number | NG6551 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
The painting represents an episode in Belisaire, a novel by Jean-François Marmontel, published in 1767. The novel is based on the legend of Belisarius, the Byzantine general (about 505–565) who according to this account was blinded and impoverished by the Roman emperor Justinian. Peyron depicts the episode when Belisarius is given hospitality at the home of a peasant who recognises the hero fallen on hard times. The two women of the family place their infants on his knee to give him thanks and receive his blessing. The peasant’s son looks away from his wife and child as he contemplates his former general. Peyron uses contrasting light and shade and different spaces to underline the emotional conflict.
This picture is the finished sketch for a painting now in the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse. A finished sketch for its companion painting, Cornelia Mother of the Gracci, is also in our collection.
The painting represents an episode in Belisaire, a novel by Jean-François Marmontel, published in 1767. The novel is based on the legend of Belisarius, the Byzantine general (about 505–565) who according to this account was blinded and unjustly impoverished by the Roman emperor Justinian. Marmontel’s novel was widely seen at the time as a condemnation of the unjust execution in 1766 of the French general Lally-Tollendal for the French defeat in India. During the years 1767–1800 a total of 13 paintings and sculptures based on the Belisarius legend were exhibited at the Salon.
Unlike most images of the story, which show Belisarius begging in the streets outside Rome, this painting by Peyron depicts the episode when Belisarius is given hospitality at the home of a peasant who recognises the hero fallen on hard times. The two women of the family place their infants on his knee to give him thanks and receive his blessing.
Peyron gives Belisarius a more active role than in the usual depictions that show him as passively receiving alms. He seems to have intended the elderly hero to be regarded with admiration rather than with pity. Seated on a throne-like but plain chair, Belisarius is Marmontel’s model of the virtuous king who rejects luxury in favour of a life of modest simplicity.
Peyron includes the peasant’s son, who once served under Belisarius, at the left. The son’s importance in the story is emphasised by the arch above his head and the lines of the architecture, which intersect just to the left of it. The sharply contrasting red and green of his costume stands out from the more muted colours worn by the other figures. He looks away from his wife and his infant child as he contemplates his former general, his shadowed face contrasting with Belisarius’s strongly lit face. He raises his arm, concealed by his cloak, perhaps to swear an oath of vengeance for the unfair treatment of Belisarius.
Peyron uses light and shade and different spaces within the picture to underline the emotional conflict and to contrast the tender scene on the right with the barely contained rage on the left. Jacques-Louis David had used a similar compositional technique in his famous Oath of the Horatii of 1784 and in his Lictors bringing Brutus the Bodies of his Sons of 1789 (both in the Louvre, Paris).
This picture is the modello (finished sketch) for the painting of the same subject now in the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse. The painting, like its pendant, Cornelia Mother of the Gracci (for which we also have the modello), was commissioned by the abbé François de Pierre de Bernis. Both modelli were exhibited at the 1785 Salon. There are also two known drawings relating to the composition (Albertina, Vienna, and Louvre, Paris), which show how Peyron evolved the picture by a series of small adjustments. The underdrawing shows typical characteristics of Peyron’s drawing style – for example his idiosyncratic approach to representing finger joints and knuckles.
Download a low-resolution copy of this image for personal use.
License and download a high-resolution image for reproductions up to A3 size from the National Gallery Picture Library.
License imageThis image is licensed for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons agreement.
Examples of non-commercial use are:
- Research, private study, or for internal circulation within an educational organisation (such as a school, college or university)
- Non-profit publications, personal websites, blogs, and social media
The image file is 800 pixels on the longest side.
As a charity, we depend upon the generosity of individuals to ensure the collection continues to engage and inspire. Help keep us free by making a donation today.
You must agree to the Creative Commons terms and conditions to download this image.
Belisarius receiving Hospitality from a Peasant
Two Scenes from Ancient Roman History
These are preparatory works, known as modelli, for paintings by Peyron now in the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse. The paintings were commissioned by the abbé de Bernis, who became Archbishop of Rouen.
In the first picture, painted in 1779, the ancient Byzantine general Belisarius is given hospitality at the home of a peasant who recognises the hero fallen on hard times. The second picture, signed and dated 1781, represents the story of the Roman heroine Cornelia. After a friend boasted about the jewels she owned, Cornelia Africana, a widowed Roman matron and mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (known as the Gracchi), declared her sons to be her jewels. Here Cornelia holds the hands of her young sons, in contrast to the pearl necklace and expensive fabrics held by her friend. The Cornelia may have been made as a companion painting for the Belisarius.
These two pictures are preparatory works, known as modelli, for paintings by Peyron now in the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse. The paintings were commissioned by the abbé de Bernis, who became Archbishop of Rouen. The modelli were exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1785.
The earlier painting, made in 1779, represents an episode in Belisaire, a novel by Jean-François Marmontel, published in 1767. The novel is based on the legend of Belisarius, the Byzantine general (about 505–565) who according to this account was blinded and impoverished by the Roman emperor Justinian. Peyron depicts the episode when Belisarius is given hospitality at the home of a peasant who recognises the hero fallen on hard times. The two women of the family place their infants on his knee to give him thanks and receive his blessing. The peasant’s son looks away from his wife and child as he contemplates his former general. Peyron uses contrasting light and shade and different spaces to underline the emotional conflict.
The second picture, painted two years after the Belisarius, and signed and dated 1781, represents the story of the Roman heroine Cornelia. After a friend boasted about the jewels she owned, Cornelia Africana, a widowed Roman matron and mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (known as the Gracchi), declared her sons to be her jewels. Here Cornelia holds the hands of her young sons, in contrast to the pearl necklace and expensive fabrics held by her friend. Like the Belisarius, this work is intended as a good example to show the importance of moral over material values.
It is not certain whether the Cornelia was intended as a companion piece, or pendant, for the Belisarius. The paintings were made two years apart, and reveal both major and minor differences. The Cornelia is on canvas whereas the Belisarius is on paper; there is underdrawing for the Belisarius but not the Cornelia; and the paint has been applied quite fluidly in the Belisarius but more carefully in the Cornelia. However, the background architecture of the Cornelia echoes that in the Belisarius, suggesting that even if the Belisarius was not conceived with a pendant in mind, the Cornelia may later have been made as a companion painting for it.


More paintings by Jean-François-Pierre Peyron
