Francesco Hayez
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! To celebrate this beautiful day of love, today we have for you ... The Kiss! Probably you were expecting the painting of the same title painted by Gustav Klimt. But as we featured it last year, we present to you this icon of Italian Romanticism. :)
The painting represents a couple from the Middle Ages, embracing while they kiss each other. It is among the most passionate and intense representations of a kiss in the history of Western art. The girl leans backwards, while the man bends his left leg to support her, simultaneously placing a foot on the step next to him as though poised to go at any moment. The couple, though at the center of the painting, are not recognizable, as Hayez wanted the action of the kissing to be at the center of the composition.
This painting is not only the representation of a passionate kiss. On a deeper level, the painting symbolizes the romantic, nationalist, and patriotic ideals of the Risorgimento, the movement of consolidation of different states of the Italian peninsula into a single state, the Kingdom of Italy. This interpretation is endorsed by several iconographic elements.
The imminent farewell between the lovers is suggested by the man’s foot temporarily resting on the step and the tight grasp with which his beloved is holding him. This represents the necessity that he must leave whilst showing the danger of being a patriot. Other elements are the dagger hidden in the mantle, a sign of the imminent rebellion against the Habsburg invader, and the date of the painting (1859), the year of the second war of independence in Italy.
Love and politics together, well. Again, Happy Valentines Day; don't forget to kiss your loved one today! :)
P.S. Did you know that Hayez was known for erotic drawings? Click here to see them. :O
P.P.S. If you like to make presents to your loved one, please check our DailyArt Shop full of gifts for art lovers. Today with the code ARTLOVERS get everything -14%! :)