Belisarius

Belisarius was a loyal and successful general in the service of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. He had won major victories against the Vandals, Goths and Bulgarians, but he then became implicated in political intrigues, was accused of treason and disgraced. He became an outcast and was even reduced to begging.

Stouf’s Bust of Belisarius at the J. Paul Getty Museum shows the general of Justinian, blinded, as a beggar, in a manner that suggests a philosopher or saint.