Portrait of Gioacchino Rossini 1870

Francesco Hayez painted this portrait of Gioachino Rossini in Italy, and it now hangs in the Palazzo Brera in Milan. Rossini was a celebrated opera composer, and Hayez, a leading painter of the Italian Risorgimento. This intersection reveals the close ties between artistic and cultural figures during a time of national awakening. Hayez was the director of the Brera Academy, then a powerful institution whose aesthetic codes were influential in defining Italian art. Rossini is shown holding sheet music with the inscription 'Musica dell Avenire', or music of the future. The portrait captures Rossini's intellectual engagement, marking him as a forward-thinking figure within the cultural debates of his time. Understanding the portrait requires us to consider the social role of artists and composers, as well as the institutions that supported their work. By studying the archives of the Brera Academy and contemporary publications, we can gain insights into the politics of Italian art in the 19th century.