Long attributed to Luca Giordano, the work has been reattributed to il Legnanino by Luca Fiorentino.

The painting depicts Belisarius recognised by Roman soldiers, an exceptionally rare subject in seventeenth-century painting.

Executed for Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia Carignano, the work is documented in payments dated 16 August 1697.

After its disappearance and passage through the Paris art market in the eighteenth century, the painting remained untraced until its rediscovery.

Formerly with Frascione Gallery, the work is now housed at Palazzo Carignano, Turin.