Date
1859-1852
Object Type
Painting
Subject
Portrait of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan and on display at the Museo del Risorgimento, Milan
About The Work
This painting is a second version of the lost Ritratto di Francesco Giuseppe, painted by Francesco Hayez for the young new emperor. The original, personally delivered by the artist to the court in Vienna in 1852, has not been traced, but its composition is precisely documented by Carlo Raimondi’s engraving.
This second canvas was likely painted for a prominent public building in Milan before being transferred to the Brera Academy of Fine Arts at an unspecified date. Fernando Mazzocca attributed its execution to the artist’s workshop, identifying the master’s touch in the "refined details of the white-gloved hand and the face”. Having previously painted the Ritratto dell'imperatore Ferdinando I (also held at the Accademia di Brera), in which he masterfully captured the monarch's complex psychology, Hayez returned here to the courtly portrait. He resolved the piece as a traditional ceremonial image, depicting the standing figure in a highly ornate uniform with meticulously detailed symbols of power. In contrast to the first version, which featured the pinnacles of Milan Cathedral in the background, this large painting depicts the spire of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna beyond the Belvedere Garden.
This second canvas was likely painted for a prominent public building in Milan before being transferred to the Brera Academy of Fine Arts at an unspecified date. Fernando Mazzocca attributed its execution to the artist’s workshop, identifying the master’s touch in the "refined details of the white-gloved hand and the face”. Having previously painted the Ritratto dell'imperatore Ferdinando I (also held at the Accademia di Brera), in which he masterfully captured the monarch's complex psychology, Hayez returned here to the courtly portrait. He resolved the piece as a traditional ceremonial image, depicting the standing figure in a highly ornate uniform with meticulously detailed symbols of power. In contrast to the first version, which featured the pinnacles of Milan Cathedral in the background, this large painting depicts the spire of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna beyond the Belvedere Garden.
Title
Ritratto di Francesco Giuseppe I d'Austria
Creator
Francesco Hayez and Workshop
Subject
Portrait of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria
Object Type
Painting
Original Function
Collection
Date
1859-1852
Technique / Support
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
cm 223 x 142
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan and on display at the Museo del Risorgimento, Milan
Inventory number
Inv. 1980, 237
Bibliography
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. 18. In Il Veneto e l’Austria. Vita e cultura artistica nelle città venete 1814-1866, exhibition catalogue (Verona, Palazzo della Gran Guardia, 30 June–29 October 1989), edited by Sergio Marinelli, Giuseppe Mazzariol, and Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Electa, 1989. 110-111, ill.
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. 418. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano, edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 377-378, ill.
Mazzocca, Fernando. Francesco Hayez. Catalogo ragionato. Milano: Federico Motta editore, 1994. No. 307, 314, ill. (with previous bibliography).
Mazzocca, Fernando. Entry no. 418. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano, edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 377-378, ill.
Mazzocca, Fernando. Francesco Hayez. Catalogo ragionato. Milano: Federico Motta editore, 1994. No. 307, 314, ill. (with previous bibliography).
Conservation status
Fair
Unique identifier
0300663645