Francesco Hayez
Portrait of Teresa Manzoni Stampa Borri
From $100
This painting is pale blue satin, brown and red, and a cheap copy turns it flat and muddy. Our Hayez The Kiss print is made from the museum’s own photograph, unretouched, so the blue satin keeps its shine.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
16x20 inch, 24x30 inch, 32x40 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its tall shape suits a study, a hallway or a living room wall. The blues, browns and reds look rich with cream, slate and walnut, and a gold or black frame suits it.
About the painting
The Kiss by Francesco Hayez
A fisherman’s son
Francesco Hayez, a Venetian fisherman’s son, became the leading Romantic painter of Milan and the painter of Italy’s struggle for unity.
The kiss
A young couple in medieval dress kiss at the foot of a stone stair. He has one foot on the step, as if he must leave at any moment.
A hidden message
Painted in 1859, the year Italy’s war of unification began, it hid patriotic hopes in a medieval scene. It came to the Brera in 1886.
Read the story
At the foot of a stone staircase, in a castle hall, a young couple kiss. She leans back into his arms, her arm around his neck, in a gown of shimmering pale blue satin. He wears a brown cloak, red tights and a hat with a feather, and he holds her face in both hands.
But look at his foot. It is already on the step, as if he must go at any moment. And in the shadows on the left, a dark figure seems to be watching. This is not a simple love scene. It may be a farewell, and there may be danger nearby.
Francesco Hayez painted it in 1859, in Milan. That year, Italy was not yet one country, and much of the north was ruled by Austria. In 1859 a new war began, the war that would lead to Italian unification. Hayez could not paint his hopes openly, because of the censors. So he hid them in a medieval scene.
The painting was commissioned by a patriotic nobleman, Count Alfonso Maria Visconti di Saliceto, and shown at the Brera in Milan on the ninth of September 1859. People loved it so much that Hayez painted it again, twice.
It hung in the count's palace for more than twenty-five years, until he left it to the Brera in 1886. Today it is seen as one of the most passionate kisses in all of Western art.
The Kiss. Francesco Hayez, 1859.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
