Francesco Hayez

Francesco Hayez was the leading painter of Italian Romanticism. His historical scenes carry political meaning for a divided Italy, and his portraits and nudes are painted with smooth, polished skin and rich fabrics.

He was born in Venice in 1791, studied at the Venice Academy and in Rome, where he came under the influence of Canova. He moved to Milan and taught at the Brera Academy from 1823. His best known picture, The Kiss (1859), in the Pinacoteca di Brera, has become a symbol of Italian unification. He also painted portraits of Rossini and Cavour. He died in Milan in 1882, aged 91.

Bathsheba at Her Bath and Jacob and Esau show his biblical subjects and luminous colour.