Painting From The Italian School Of The Nineteenth Century

"SUMMER ALLEGORY" DIMENSIONS 117 X 94 CM School of Francesco Hayez Francesco Hayez (Italian: February 10, 1791 - February 12, 1882) was an Italian painter. He is considered one of the main artists of Romanticism in the mid-19th century in Milan and is renowned for his large historical paintings, political allegories and portraits. Francesco Hayez comes from a relatively poor family in Venice. Her father, Giovanni, was of French descent while her mother, Chiara Torcella, was from Murano. Francesco was the youngest of five children. He was raised by his mother's sister, who had married Giovanni Binasco, a wealthy shipowner and art collector. Hayez has shown a flair for drawing since childhood. His uncle, having noticed his precocious talent, made him apprentice to an art restorer in Venice. Hayez would later become the pupil of the painter Francesco Maggiootto with whom he continued his studies for three years. He was admitted to the painting course of the New Academy of Fine Arts in Venice in 1806, where he studied with Teodoro Matteini. In 1809, he won a competition from the Academy of Venice for a one-year residency at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. He remained in Rome until 1814, then moved to Naples where he was commissioned by Gioacchino Murat to paint an important work representing Ulysses at the court of Alcinoo. In the mid-1930s, he participated in the Salone Maffei in Milan, directed by Clara Maffei. Maffei's husband later commissioned Hayez to paint a portrait of his wife. In 1850, Hayez was appointed director of the Academy of Brera. Over a long career, Hayez has proven to be particularly prolific. His production included historical paintings designed to appeal to the patriotic sensibilities of his patrons, as well as works that reflected a desire to accompany a neoclassical style with broad themes, both biblical and classical literature. He also painted scenes from theatrical performances. Absent from his work, however, are the altarpieces, possibly due to the Napoleonic invasions that desecrated many churches and convents in northern Italy. Art historian Corrado Ricci described Hayez as a classic that later evolved into a style of emotional turmoil. His portraits have the intensity of Ingres and the Nazarene movement. Often seated, Hayez's subjects are often dressed in stark black and white clothing with little or no equipment. While Hayez did portraits for the nobility, he also explored other subjects as fellow artists and musicians. At the end of his career, he is known to have worked with the help of photographs. One of Hayez's favorite themes was the half-dressed Odalisque which evoked oriental themes - a favorite subject of Romantic painters. Portrayals of harems and their wives allowed artists to paint scenes otherwise unacceptable in society. Marie-Madeleine de Hayez also has more sensuality than religious fervor. Hayez Le Baiser's painting was considered one of his best works by his contemporaries and is perhaps his best known. The couple's anonymous and spontaneous gesture does not require knowledge of myth or literature to be interpreted and appeals to a modern perspective. A scientific assessment of Hayez's career has been complicated by his propensity not to sign or date his works. Often the dates in his paintings indicate when the work was bought or sold, not when it was created. In addition, he often painted the same compositions multiple times with minimal or no variation. Among his students at the Academy of Brera were Carlo Belgioioso, Amanzio Cattaneo, Alessandro Focosi, Giovanni Battista Lamperti, Livo Pecora, Angelo Pietrasanta, Antonio Silo, Ismaele Teglio Milla and Francesco Valaperta. Hayez died in Milan at the age of 91. His studio at the Academy of Brera is marked with a plaque