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s *FRANCESCO HAYEZ ITALIAN, 1791-1881 NELL'HAREM oil on canvas 33 by 42 1/2 in. 83.8 by 108cm. PROVENANCE Countess Nako, Vienna (commissioned from the artist) This exciting discovery is the second of three known versions of the subject. The other two versions were both executed for Milanese collectors, the first for Enrico Taccioli, exhibited at the Brera in 1842 (see Mazzocca, Francisco Hayez, Catalogo ragionato, Milan, 1994, pp. 265, 278, Nos. 241 & 261). The present work was commissioned in 1840 by Countess Nako of Vienna as recorded in the artist's ledgers under 'historical and allegorical paintings', in the manuscripts collection of the Biblioteca Braidense, Milan. Compared to the picture painted for Taccioli, which was criticized for its focus on architectural elements, including a succession of columns in the foreground, here Hayez limits the architectural detail to a minimum. Like the other harem interiors, this painting was inspired by a number of smaller works, notably by his history painting of 1834, Gentile Bellini, Accompanied by his Venetian Tutor Presenting his Painting to Mohamet II of San Giovanni Beheaded (Venice, private collection; Mazzocca, 1994, pp. 236-7, No. 200). In the present work, however, Hayez has enhanced the scene by depicting the figures in various poses, seated and standing, in an altogether more sumptuous setting, composed of rich oriental costumes, exotic furnishings, rugs, curtains, and musical instruments, all depicted in vibrant colors. The word harem comes from the Arabic for 'forbidden'. It was the residence of the Sultan's wives, concubines, and children, who were guarded by slave eunuchs. The Sultan and his sons were the only other men allowed access to the harem. Since the harem was the place where the secret lives of the Ottoman sultans were spent, no Westerner would have had access or could have known exactly what went on behind its walls. The Harem moved to the Topkapi Palace in the late 16th century from its earlier