Francesco Hayez

Federico Mylius, Genoa (commissioned from the artist; the Italo-German collector Mylius,1826-1897, was descended from the famous Milanese patron of the arts, Enrico Mylius)
Purchased by the present owner from the descendants of Federico Mylius in 1973

Paris, Exposition Universelle, 1867
Mantua, Fruttiere di Palazzo Te, La Nazione Dipinta: Storia di una famiglia tra Mazzini e Garibaldi, 2007-2008, no. 14, illustrated in the catalogue

Elenco manoscritto, Quadri sorici ed allegorici, no. 189, n.d. (Hayez's handwritten inventory of his work), Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan
Catalogue d'objets d'art et de curiosité formant la galerie de Mr Mylius de Gènes, Rome, 5 November 1879, p. 20 (as Le Baiser)
Giulio Carotti, ed., Francesco Hayez, Le mie memorie, Milan, 1890, p. 281, mentioned
Sergio Coradeschi, L'opera completa di Hayez, Milan, 1971, no. 313d., listed 
Fernando Mazzocca, Francesco Hayez. Catalogo Ragionato, Milan, 1994, p. 336, no. 343 (erroneously illustrated as no. 342 and catalogued with incorrect dimensions)

This condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar, Hamish Dewar Ltd. Fine Art Conservation, 14 Masons Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU. Structural Condition The canvas is unlined and has a raised craquelure pattern over much of the paint surface. While it is obviously very encouraging to see the painting in its original unlined state, the canvas has really reached the stage where lining is now required to ensure long-term structural stability and a more even surface. I would be confident that the canvas would respond well to lining. Paint surface The paint surface has a discoloured varnish layer and would undoubtedly be transformed by cleaning. Inspection under ultra-violet light is inconclusive due to the nature of the varnish layers causing the paint surface to fluoresce unevenly. The areas that do fluoresce clearly, however, are: 1) an area in the upper right of the background which measures approximately 10 x 4 cms, 2) an area approximately 1 cm in diameter in the lower right, and 3) a small area in the upper left and other minor touches. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in essentially good condition and should respond extremely well to cleaning, restoration, revarnishing and relining.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Il Bacio is both one of the most enduring and poignantly symbolic of images of Italian ottocento painting, drawing on historical and literary references to express not only a timeless romantic vision but the very spirit of Italy itself. Since its creation, the composition has remained an icon of the Italian Risorgimento, the process of unification that consumed the Italian peninsula for most of the nineteenth century and resulted in the birth of a nation in 1861. The embracing couple, with its clear allusions to Shakepeare's Romeo and Juliet or Manzoni's fated Lucia and Renzo, whose love prevails against all odds, becomes the symbol of Italian nationhood, victorious over internal conflict and foreign domination.   

The present painting post-dates the earliest, unsigned, version in Milan's Brera Museum by two years. The latter was shown in Milan at the Esposizione Dell'Accademia di Brera in September 1859 at the height of the Risorgimento, three months after the arrival in the city of Vittorio Emanuele II (the future king of a united Italy) and Napoleon III, joint commanders of the Franco-Sardinian Alliance that had expelled the Austrian forces at the Battle of Solferino earlier that year. The painting immediately captured the public's imagination and admiration, conveying as it did the spirit of national hope with its passionate embrace of lovers united. Significantly, in the present version, painted the year unification became reality, Hayez subsitutes the blue dress of the Brera picture for a white one, so that the embracing couple's intertwining costumes form the colours of the Italian tricolore.  

Hayez clearly considered Il Bacio as one of his most important compositions, returning to the subject several times after 1859. There are four documented versions: the Brera picture; the present work; a smaller version in a private collection in Turin (Mazzocca no. 344), which was donated by the painter to the family of Carolina Zucchi, his model and lover; and a fourth version measuring 117 by 80 cm. (Mazzocca, no. 342, wrongly illustrated as the present work and with the wrong dimensions), showing the girl wearing a blue dress and with a white drape lying on the steps at the couple's feet, which was offered at Sotheby's New York on 7 May 1998.   

Il Bacio is distinguished by its impeccable Mylius family provenance. Enrico Mylius was a prosperous German banker who moved from Frankfurt to Milan in 1792, and became one of the city's foremost patrons of the arts and literature. He was an influential philanthropist who travelled in intellectual circles comprised of leading lights of the day such as Wolfgang Goethe and Alessandro Manzoni. Mylius championed sculptors such as Pompeo Marchesi and Bertel Thorvaldsen, endowed a prize for painting at the Reale Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, and was a lifelong supporter of Francesco Hayez. His descendant, Federico Mylius, who according to Hayez's own inventory manuscript commissioned the present painting, shared Enrico's passion for Hayez's work, and Il Bacio was a prized work in his collection that remained in the Mylius family until its sale in 1973 to the present owner.