Legnanino
Stefano Maria Legnani, known as Legnanino (1661-1713), is a painter known in Turin above all for the painting «Belisarius Begging for Alms», commissioned for the Appartamenti dei Principi of Palazzo Carignano. The work, long kept away from the public, has been on display again since 25 October 2026, after three centuries of absence, until 6 January.[1]
The work for Palazzo Carignano
The painting was commissioned from Legnanino in 1697 by Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia (1628-1709), known as «il Muto» (the Mute), Prince of Carignano. It depicts the legend, widespread since the Middle Ages and considered by most historians to lack historical basis, according to which the Byzantine general Flavius Belisarius (500-565), right-hand man of Emperor Justinian, was blinded by imperial order and reduced to poverty, forced to beg in the streets of Constantinople.[1]
The subject was chosen, as explained at Palazzo Carignano, for its allegorical value linked to the patron's own life: Emanuele Filiberto's conflicts with Louis XIV, which led to his exile after refusing a marriage imposed by the French king, and the financial difficulties he faced in his final years because of court expenses and debts.[1]
Belisarius as a subject in art
The legend of Belisarius's blindness and begging became a popular subject in 17th- and 18th-century painting, also treated by artists such as Jacques-Louis David and Antoon van Dyck, who portrayed him as an old, blind beggar recognized by a former comrade-in-arms. In historical reality, Belisarius was investigated over an alleged conspiracy against Justinian, placed under house arrest, and a year later cleared and readmitted to court, dying two years afterward of natural causes, wealthy and at the height of his popularity.[1]
Related articles: Return of "Belisarius Begging for Alms" to Palazzo Carignano
Sources
- Il Torinese — 25 October 2026