Belisarius (Furnishing Fabric)
Medium
Cotton, plain weave; engraved roller printed
Dimensions
91.4 × 86.5 cm (36 × 34 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13608
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century French textiles with *Belisarius (Furnishing Fabric)* designed by Jean-Louis-Touss Caron in 1821. This vibrant cotton piece, measuring 91.4 × 86.5 cm, captures a dramatic historical scene inspired by the Byzantine general Belisarius famed for his military triumphs under Emperor Justinian I and his tragic fall into blindness and poverty. Caron, a master of textiles from the Jouy-en-J tradition, infused the fabric with neoclassical storytelling, blending heroism and pathos to adorn homes during France's Restoration era. Crafted from plain-weave cotton...