Francesco Hayez, (1791–1882)
Meeting between Esau and Jacob, c. 1844
Oil on canvas
Height: 208 cm (81.8 ″); Width: 300 cm (118.1 ″)
Tosio Martinengo Gallery, in Brescia, Lombardy
Jacob and Esau. The Book of Genesis speaks of the relationship between Jacob and
Esau, focusing on Esau's loss of his birthright to Jacob and the conflict that
had spawned between their descendant nations because of Jacob's deception of
their aged and blind father, Isaac, in order to receive Esau's
birthright/blessing from Isaac.
This
conflict was paralleled by the affection the parents had for their favored
child: "Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison, and
Rebekah loved Jacob." (Genesis 25:28). Even since conception, their
conflict was foreshadowed: "And the children struggled together within
her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the
Lord. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner
of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be
stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."
(Genesis 25:22–23)
This passage in Genesis 25:26 is as if Jacob was
seemingly trying to pull Esau back into the womb so that he could be firstborn.
The grasping of the heel is also a reference to deceptive behavior. More on Jacob and Esau
Francesco Hayez (10 February 1791 – 21 December 1882) was
an Italian painter, the leading artist of Romanticism in mid-19th-century
Milan, renowned for his grand historical paintings, political allegories and
exceptionally fine portraits.
Hayez came
from a relatively poor family from Venice. He was brought up by his mother's
sister, who had married a well-off shipowner and collector of art. From
childhood he showed a predisposition for drawing, so his uncle apprenticed him
to an art restorer. Later he became a student of the painter Francesco
Maggiotto with whom he continued his studies for three years. He was admitted
to the painting course of the New Academy of Fine Arts in 1806. In 1809 he won
a competition from the Academy of Venice for one year of study at the Accademia
di San Luca in Rome. He remained in Rome until 1814, then moved to Naples where
he was commissioned by Joachim Murat to paint a major work depicting Ulysses at
the court of Alcinous. In the mid-1830s he attended the "Salotto
Maffei" salon in Milan.
Francesco Hayez lived long and was prolific. His output
spanned both historic paintings, and Neoclassic style grand themes, either from
biblical or classical literature. He also painted scenes from theatrical
presentations of his day. More Francesco Hayez
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