Eberhard Wächter (1762 Balingen - Stuttgart 1852) – Belisar als Bettler (Belisar as a beggar)

Oil on canvas, relined. (c. 1797). 60.5 x 76.1 cm. With two red lacquer seals on the reverse of the stretcher. Framed.

Provenance: Provenienz: Tajan (S.V.V.), Paris, Auktion, 17.10.2003, Los 62; Hampel, München, Auktion, 8.12.2006, Los 375; Fischer, Luzern, Auktion, 14.11.2007, Los 1049; Privatsammlung, Hessen. Artist Name: Eberhard Wächter (1762 Balingen - Stuttgart 1852) Notes: Öl auf Leinwand, doubliert. (Um 1797). 60,5 x 76,1 cm. Verso auf dem Keilrahmen mit zwei roten Lacksiegeln. Gerahmt.

Flavius Belisarius was an Eastern Roman general of Thracian origin who served as a general under Emperor Justinian I. The legend of Belisarius, who was blinded and ended up as a beggar, found a lively reception in the visual arts, but also in music with the opera "Belisario" by Gaetano Donizetti (1836). Eberhard Wächter, who at times led a materially deprived life himself, shows Belisar surrounded by onlookers who are outraged by his stoic nature and mock him by asking for alms from the pauper.

Taxation: regelbesteuert (VAT: Regular Taxation)