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Melancholy (1801) by Constance Marie Charpentier

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Anton Graff German, 1736-1813 (detail art)

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The Kiss

Artist: Francesco Hayez (Italian, 1791-1882)

Date: 1859

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Collection: Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy

The Kiss | Francesco Hayez

After the defeat of Napoleonic France in the 19th century, the Congress of Vienna was held in 1815 to redraw the map of Europe. Italy had a very marginal role compared to other European countries and was slated to be divided into several states. Every state was ruled directly or strongly influenced by the Habsburgs of the Austrian Empire. That fragmentation went against the growing nationalist sentiment for Italian unification and caused the creation of secret societies with democratic and radical orientations, such as the Carboneria and Young Italy. Although those associations were unsuccessful, their role was fundamental in shaping public opinion.

The first war of Italian independence (1848) was a failure, but, by 1859, a secret agreement between Napoleon III and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, stipulated the formation of an anti-Austrian alliance. The contribution of France was considered crucial because the Austrian armies were defeated by the alliance in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia in the empire. That victory initiated the unification process, and the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed a few years later, in 1861.

It was during that period that Francesco Hayez painted The Kiss. Mindful of the bloody repression of the nationalist movement, Hayez decided to disguise the ideals of conspiracy and the struggle against the invaders by a representation of past events. The use of ambiguous, opaque metaphors allowed the artist to avoid censorship by the authorities.

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Two Studies of Arms for the Figure of Apelles in the painting Apotheosis of Homer. 1826-27. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres French 1780-1867. oil/canvas. Christie's May 2025. http://hadrian6.tumblr.com

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A Cavalry Skirmish by Charles Poerson

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Some Cursed Napoleon Pics bcs I got bored 💀

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The Departure of the Garibaldian by Gerolamo Induno

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Apoxyomenos. Greek.  2nd or 1st century BC, gilt bronze. http://hadrian6.tumblr.com

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Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord (1754–1838), Prince de Bénévent

Artist: François Gérard (French, 1770–1837)

Date: 1808

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY, United States

Description

Talleyrand commissioned this portrait after he resigned from his position as minister of foreign affairs in protest against Napoleon’s insatiable military ambition. Gérard knew Talleyrand personally and carefully balanced the sitter’s ease with an imposing presence and unrevealing expression. Talleyrand’s face and clothing are reserves of calm relative to the highly worked gilt chair and desk, details that the artist used to animate the surface. Gérard meticulously included the insignias representing Talleyrand’s many honors, which the artist updated after the Congress of Vienna in 1815, when Talleyrand was instrumental in the restructuring of post-Napoleonic Europe and was bestowed the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (2 February 1754 – 17 May 1838), 1st Prince of Benevento, then Prince of Talleyrand, was a French secularized clergyman, statesman, and leading diplomat

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Jérôme Bonaparte by Gilbert Stuart 1804.

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Portrait of Second Lieutenant Charles Legrand (circa 1810)

Antoine-Jean Gros (French, 1771-1835)

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Friederich Amerling, la giovane donna orientale. 1838

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Giuseppe Garibaldi on a vintage postcard

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Laurent Grasso (French, 1972) - Studies into the Past (series) (2025)

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Giotto (1882) by Gustave Moreau