Flight from Chios
1839
Francesco Hayez throws us right into a desperate escape on the high seas, where a group of refugees huddles in a small boat against a backdrop of churning green waves and a stormy sky. Created in 1839 during the height of the Romantic movement, this piece depicts the tragic flight of survivors from the Greek island of Chios following a brutal massacre by Ottoman forces. Notice the mix of despair and exhaustion on their faces—it’s classic Romantic drama, prioritizing raw emotion over calm composition. Hayez was essentially the rockstar of Milanese painting at the time, and he used this scene to tap into the European obsession with the Greek War of Independence.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
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