A Music Party

Hughes visited Italy in 1862 where he found inspiration for his paintings and portraits, particularly in Venice. Less intensely bright than his work of the 1850s, 'The Music Party' combines strong Venetian influences with overt Pre-Raphaelite painting practice. When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1864, the accompanying lines from Keats were included in the catalogue: "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter."