Leopoldina Zanetti Borzino (Italian 1826-1902). Born in Venice, Leopoldina was the niece of Daniel Manin, a hero statesman, who would become the President of San Marco, a revolutionary state, which existed for 17 months during the Venetian Revolution of 1848-1849 in which Napoleon ceded Italian lands that included Venice to the Austrians. In 1849, Leopoldina along with her uncle and other military and family members was exiled from Venice. She took refuge in France and then Genoa, where she met and married a fellow painter, Giacomo Ulisse Borzino (1820-1906).
 
During the Risorgimento movement (1750-1870), many Italian artists, like Leopoldina, depicted historical and patriotic themes. In “The Family”, we see a layered autobiographical rendition of her life. Her family leaving Venice is represented by the Father, Mother, and Child happily walking down a road in the woodlands. However, it also represents the exile from her homeland. Relocating to other lands, not knowing the outcome of the journey, Leopoldina is telling us she never lost faith in her beloved Italy. Exile became a central theme of the foundational legacy of the Risorgimento as the narrative, a moment central to Leopoldina’s life. The love and support expressed in this painting represent the love and support of the Italian people for Italy. The three family members are happy, expressing their faith that Italy would be unified.