Jean-François-Pierre Peyron, 'Belisarius receiving Hospitality from a Peasant', 1779
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.