Painting and Sculpture

Belisarius (Archer Shee)

Belisarius is an 1809 history painting by the Irish artist Martin Archer Shee. It depicts a legendary scene featuring Belisarius, a heroic former general of the Byzantine Empire begging on the streets with the assistance of a boy having been dismissed after being wrongly accused of conspiracy. It was a popular, recurring theme in art. The Dublin-born Archer Shee was a prominent figure in the Regency era art world noted for his portrait paintings. When Archer Shee was elected as a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, he was required to submit a diploma work and chose to present this painting as portraits were not permitted. Archer Shee went on to become President of the Royal Academy in 1830, succeeding Thomas Lawrence. The picture was later displayed at the Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857 in Manchester. It remains in the collection of the Royal Academy in London.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Joseph Southall
• ▸Ain Dara (archaeological site)
• ▸Flora and Zephyr

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.