Rinaldo and Armida

Francesco Hayez painted Rinaldo and Armida around 1812, an early mythological and literary subject from Torquato Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata depicting the enchantment of the Crusader knight Rinaldo by the Saracen sorceress Armida. The subject was popular in European Romantic painting as a vehicle for the conflict between erotic enchantment and military duty — a conflict with obvious resonance for an Italian audience aware of the Austrian occupier's 'enchantment' that kept Italy passive and divided. Hayez's early work shows the influence of the Venetian tradition and the Neoclassical figure organization he absorbed in Rome before his mature Romantic style fully developed.

Hayez renders the mythological lovers with the refined drawing and warm coloring that would characterize his mature work. The composition balances the sensual subject with classical restraint, showing the young painter developing his distinctive synthesis of Venetian color and Romantic feeling.