1791 -1882 · Italian romanticism, Risorgimento and Milanese portrait

Historical stories, sensuality of bodies, psychological portraits and patriotic symbols make Francesco Hayez the great painter of Italian romanticism.

Francesco Hayez was born in Venice in 1791 into a modest family. Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, he won a competition in 1809 which allowed him to continue his studies in Rome. He copied Antiquity there and Raphael frequented Canova's entourage and mastered the requirements of neoclassical drawing. His installation in Milan in the early 1820s transformed this training. His installation in Milan in the early 1820s transformed this training. In the intellectual capital of Lombardy, Hayez became the painter of historical romanticism and approached liberal circles favorable to Italian unity. His installation in Milan in the early 1820s transformed this training. In the intellectual capital of Lombardy, Hayez became the painter of historical romanticism and became closer to liberal circles favorable to Italian unity. His installation in Milan in the early 1820s transformed this training. In the intellectual capital of Lombardy, Hayez became the painter of historical romanticism and became closer to liberal circles favorable to Italian unity. His medieval, biblical or literary episodes speak of the present through the detour of the past: separation, exile, betrayal and resistance acquired a political resonance that censorship can hardly grasp. He taught at length at the Brera Academy and trained several generations. A sought-after portraitist, he represents Alessandro Manzoni, Massimo d'Azeglio, Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso and the Milanese elite with acute attention to gaze, costume and social status. He also paints nudes, odalisques, allegories and self-portraits. The Kiss, presented to Brera in 1859, became his most famous image. The passionate embrace, the dark staircase and the colors of the garment combine intimate drama and hope of the Risorgimento, at the time of the Second War of Independence. Immediate success led Hayez to resume the composition in several versions. His painting thus unites academic precision, romantic theater, sensuality of matter and political language. Died in Milan in 1882, he remains one of the major inventors of the Italian national imagination. The "Francesco Hayez" selection notably compares The Kiss and The Secret Accused. His reading favors composition.

Hayez makes history a language of the present: a look, a fabric or a kiss can carry private desire as much as political hope.