Francesco Hayez · 1850
Meditation on the History of Italy
Posters from $15 · Canvas from $39
A bare-breasted personification of Italy, a cross at her throat, holding a book of Italian history — Hayez's political allegory of the failed 1848 revolutions. Museum of Modern Art, Verona.
Up to 16 × 24 in · portrait
Size
Larger sizes are unavailable for this painting because the source scan's resolution wouldn't print at gallery quality.
Format & finish
Archival cotton canvas stretched over a wooden frame. Ready to hang as-is. No external frame.
Scale next to a 5'10" person
+ tax at checkout
The story of Meditation on the History of Italy
La Meditazione is an 1851 oil painting by the Italian artist Francesco Hayez. It is an allegorical painting featuring a young woman representing mid-nineteenth century Italy, amidst the process of the Risorgimento that led to the unification to the country. It was a reflection of the failure of the Revolution of 1848. She is shown with a thoughtful expression and both a book representing the history of Italy and crucifix representing the religious faith of the Catholic Church. More strikingly she is shown with one of her breasts exposed. Today the painting is in the collection of the Galleria d'Arte Moderna Palazzo Forti in Verona.
Adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Francesco Hayez
Francesco Hayez was an Italian painter. He is considered one of the leading artists of Romanticism in mid-19th-century Milan, and is renowned for his grand historical paintings, political allegories, and portraits.
All Francesco Hayez prints →Biography adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
