PEYRON, Jean-François-Pierre
(b. 1744, Aix-en-Provence, d. 1814, Paris)

Belisarius Receiving Hospitality from a Peasant Who Had Served under Him

1779
Oil on canvas, 93 x 132 cm
Musée des Augustins, Toulouse

The theme of Belisarius was much in vogue from the 1770s, and in addition to Jacques-Louis David, rival artists of David's own generation, such as Pierre Peyron and François-André Vincent, had painted their own versions of the subject. In Peyron's work, Belisarius is recognized by a peasant who had served under him, and praised as their protector and saviour by the rural family that now give him hospitality.