At the suggestion of the Brescian architect Rodolfo Vantini, towards the end of 1839 the Countess Carolina Santi Bevilacqua commissioned the painting of the Addolorata from the Venetian artist Francesco Hayez for the chapel of the family castle in Legnago. Subsequently, it became part of the Andrea Maffei collection, before being transferred to Riva del Garda, where it is documented in 1875, and then passed on to the de Lutti family.

Hayez, one of the major protagonists of the Milanese romantic season, particularly appreciated history painting and the portrait genre, without however neglecting the sacred subjects, which were occasionally commissioned from him. Trained within the great tradition of Venetian chromatism of Titian ancestry, in Addolorata Hayez he opted for a palette of particularly cold tones, restoring an atmosphere of intense spirituality, accentuated by the unusual choice of placing the light source behind the Virgin.

The construction of the work follows an unprecedented diagonal pattern, the vectors of which are identified by the pyramidal figure of Mary, by a wing and by the daring glimpse of the cross supported with difficulty by the angels; in the center, the face of the Virgin, the fulcrum of the work, lost in pain, stands in contrast with the upward thrust of the angels who support her body. Below right, the elegant winged spirit gathered in prayer winks at Canova's sculptural production, much appreciated by Hayez.

Frequent frequenter of the renowned intellectual salon of Countess Clara Maffei, Francesco Hayez painted the portrait of the noblewoman from Bergamo while she was separating from her husband Andrea, a poet and intellectual from Trentino, to whom Clara left the painting in her will. The Venetian artist, one of the major protagonists of the Italian romantic season and appreciated portrait painter, decided to represent her with a simple, but very refined, clothing - a soft fur shawl, an impalpable embroidered silk scarf wrapped around the neck, a few simple jewels - which highlights the face illuminated by a slightly ironic smile and the intelligent and lively expression. The introspective investigation that characterizes the work, expertly rendered by our friend Hayez, allows us to grasp the psychological depth of the young woman, tenacious and strong-willed, "ardent interpreter of the romantic spirit".

Protagonist of the political cultural life of Milan, as well as the animator of one of the most renowned salons, Clara Maffei, after the death of her only daughter, in 1834 opened the doors of her city home, gathering around her Italian and foreign writers, musicians and artists , from Giuseppe Verdi to Honoré de Balzac, to the same Francesco Hayez who in 1835 painted, commissioned by Andrea Maffei, Valenza Gradenigo in front of the inquisitor father , a work that adorned the most visible wall of the living room, one of the best known and most appreciated cultural centers from Milan.