LEDA

The enigmatic painting of the painter's family did not bear a signature or date at the time it was created. The Treviso collector who purchased it, wanting to ensure it was an autograph work, sent the canvas to the elderly artist, who was residing in Milan, in 1864. Hayez dated the work back to 1807, when he was sixteen, as indicated by the inscription on the front.

Therefore created during his Venetian years, the painting shows the influence of Venetian-area painting and its key figures, from Francesco Maggiotto to Gregorio Lazzarini.

Set in a domestic environment, the figures appear absorbed, almost suspended in a dimension that transcends the everyday and slides into allegory. In the foreground, two children exchange a look of understanding, perhaps directed at the birdcage that the older one is opening. In the center, two women, perhaps the painter's mother and aunt, sit on a Venetian sofa, while behind them, in shadow, appears the artist's first self-portrait. The portfolio he holds in his hands evokes his passion for drawing but may also allude to his upcoming departure for Rome.

Purchased at the end of the 19th century by Abbot Bailo for his personal collection, the work was later included in the collections of the Treviso Civic Museums after his death.

LEDA