Abstract
The blind Belisar as an example of the sudden fall from honour and glory to poverty and distress inspired not only Rembrandt but also several artists from the 17th to the 19th century. The contemporary historians report that Belisar was dismissed by Justinian because of envy and distrust and that he died in poverty. Details about his blinding can be found only in an epic of the 12th century. A report is given about the different gruesome techniques of blinding that existed during the centuries of Byzantine empire.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bovini G. & Matt Lv. Ravenna. Du Mont Schauberg, Köln 1971.
Held JS. Der blinde Tobias und seine Heilung in Darstellungen Rembrandts. Mit einem Vorwort von W. Jaeger. Die medizinhistorische Bedeutung der Tobiasheilungen Rembrandts. Brausdruck Heidelberg 1980. Belisar Fig. 20.
Pigler A. Barockthemen II. Berlin-Budapest 1956. p. 425–426.
Mahoney M. The drawings of Salvator Rosa. New York-London 1977 I p. 461–462 and II Fig. 41, 1. - Salerno L. Salvator Rosa. Florence 1963. Fig. 32.
Schenck Ev. Belisar. Romantisches Trauerspiel in 5 Aufzugen. Reclam o.J.
Ashbrook W. Donizetti and his operas. Cambridge 1982.
Beck HG. Geschichte der byzantinischen Volksliteratur. In: Byzantinisches Handbuch im Rahmen des Handbuchs der Altertumswissenschaft II, 3. S. 150–153. C.H. Beck. Miinchen 1971.
Follieri E. II poema bizantino del Belisario. In: La poesia epica e la sua formazione. Academia Nationale dei Lincei 1970. Quaderno 139. p. 583–651. (publication in Greek and Italian).
Schaab M. Die Blendung als politische MaCnahme im abendlandischen Fruh- und Hochmittelalter. Diss. Heidelberg 1955. Reporting the practices in the history of the Byzantine Emperors, demonstrated by the Diss. of O. Lampsides Athens 1949.
Jaeger W. Die verschiedenen Formen der Blendung und ihre Darstellung in der Kunst. Proceedings XXX. International Congress of the history of medicine. Dusseldorf 1986. Ed. H. Schadewaldt. Vicom K.G. Leverkusen 1988. S. 591–603.
Georgios Pachymeres 3, 16.
Hoppe U. Ophthalmologische Beitrage zur Technik der Blendung. Diss. Heidelberg 1962.
Gellius, Noctes Atticae 10, 17; Plutarch de curiositate 12 p. 521 C/D.
Wallace RW. Salvator Rosa's Democritus and L'umana Fragilita. The Art Bulletin 50 (1) 20–26 (1968) Fig. 9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jaeger, W. The blind Belisar as beggar. Doc Ophthalmol 74, 119–123 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165669
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165669