Mercury Gives Paris the Apple of Discord

Hayez worked on the decoration of the interiors of the Napoleonic Wing, the building which ran between the Procuratie Vecchie and Nuove, the two long arcades of buildings which extend the length of St Mark’s Square and had housed the offices and residences of some of the most important political authorities of the Venetian Republic. In the nineteenth century, when Venice was under the rule of Austria, it served as the official residence of the Habsburg Court during its frequent visits to the city, and after would become the Venetian residence of the king of Italy. Presently the building houses the Museo Correr.

Hayez’s frescoes, originally on the wall of the Throne Room, were detached in 1950 and transferred to canvas, and now are exhibited in the Museo Correr.