VERONESE

CLARE ROBERTSON
GREAT ARTISTS
Veronese
 u

\
GREAT ARTISTS

Veronese
CLARE ROBERTSON

SCALA BOOKS
Text <; Clare Robertson ipp2

C Scala Publications Lid and Reunic

Musees Nationaux 1992

First published 1992

by Scala Publications Limited

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55; Scala (Italyl 12. 15

FRONTISPIECE Detail of 33 Paolo V

Ceiling of the Sala del Collegio

TrrLE PAGE Detail and whole of 23 Paolo

Veronese, TTi^ rafv of Europa

THIS PAGE 24 Paolo Veronese. Vtt family of

Daritts before Alexartder
 Contents

Introduction

Early career

The church of San Sebastiano

The Villa Barbaro at Maser

21

Allegory, myth and ancient history

iS

Feasts and other religious works

The Doge's Palace

Portraits

Late religious works

 Introduction

The great biographer of Renaissance admired and closely imitated by artists reviv-
artists Giorgio Vasari, writing in the late ing the Venetian tradition of painting, above
1560s, describes Paulino, the painter from all Giambattista Tiepolo.
Verona, as an artist held in the highest esteem, The characteristics of Veronese's art which
who had done many praiseworthy works in were to ensure sum-
his lasting appeal are well
spite of being no more than thirty years old. marized by the biographer Cario Ridolfr who
By that time Paolo Veronese had indeed wrote in his Life of Veronese of 1648: "The
established himself as one of the foremost opinion of connoisseurs is agreed that he has
artists in Venice, and had won a series of achieved the first aim of art, delighting in a
highly prestigious commissions in and around manner never before practiced by any painter.
his adopted city. However, Vasari had under- They admire in his pictures exotic and majes-
estimated his age by more than a decade: he tic deities, grave characters, matrons full of
was bom in 1528, and would die in 1588. The grace and beauty, kings clothed in rich orna-
praise bestowed by Vasari is remarkable, since ments, diverse raiments, and various military
he was not usually sympathetic to the joyous plants, beauti-
spoils, rich architecture,
painterly qualities which distinguished Ven- ful and so many curiosities, that the
animals,
etian art from the more linear tradition of Cen- beholder's eye is well satisfied by his sweet
tral Italian artists, in which he himself worked. entertainment." The sumptuous and festive
But one of the reasons for his appreciating aspects of Veronese's work suggested here are
Veronese more than most Venetian painters is an essential element. Theatricality, richness
precisely Veronese's ability to fuse a brilliantly and complexity of texture and ornament com-
original handling of color with great skill in bine with a remarkable facility of invention
disegno (design or drawing). These qualities and lucid presentation, not only in mythologi-
made him also a key influence for artists of the cal and works and the complex alle-
historical
early Baroque, such as Annibale Carracci and gories which were so much in vogue among
Rubens, who sought to reconcile the two Veronese's aristocratic patrons, but also in
seemingly opposed traditions of Italian paint- religious works.
ing. In the eighteenth century he would be

1 Paolo Veronese
The Virgin and Child with a female martyr and St. Peter, 1555-60
Oil on canvas, 119 x 95 cm
Vicenza, Museo Civico

The pose of the pensive Madonna with the Christ Child shrinking against His mother's neck may
owe something to Raphael, but the handling of color is entirely Veronese's: the dark green velvet
cloth which backdrop is a perfect
acts as a foil for the rose and lighter green of the Virgin's robes
with their shimmering highlights.
 Early career

Paolo Caliari was bom in Verona, the city with the Venetian nobility, Sanmicheli seems
from which his usual name derives. He to have acted as Paolo's protector, and may
was the youngest of five children of a stone- have been responsible com-
for obtaining the
mason. The most important town of the main- mission for some C1545-46 which
frescos of
land empire of Venice, the old Roman city of have recently been attributed to the young
Verona could boast a flourishing humanist tra- painter (though the attribution has proved
dition and a lively artistic environment in the controversial) in Palazzo Canossa, a building
sixteenth century. Ridolfi informs us that in Verona which Sanmicheli had undertaken in
Paolo first learned to model with his father's the early 1550s. The association continued
clay, but that his father, seeing that his natural when in 1551 Sanmicheli, "who loved them
aptitude was for drawing, apprenticed him to like sons," according to Vasari, sent Veronese,
a young Antonio Badile,
local artist, whose together with Giovanni Battista Zelotti, to
pupil he was in 1541, and whose daughter he fresco his Villa Soranza near Tre\iso with alle-
subsequently married in 1566. Other sources gorical figures in illusionistic architectural set-
suggest that he may also have learned from tings. These figures, now in a fragmentary
another Veronese painter, Giovanni Caroto. state, were the first examples of a kind of dec-
Both artists were working in a rather linear oration at which Veronese was to excel, and
stylewhich ultimately derives from that of form a significant precedent for his work at
Mantegna. It is probable that Paolo's original- Maser (10-13).
ity manifested itself early, for even his first The following year Veronese first encoun-
works show little influence from either of his tered another architect with whom he would
supposed teachers. Rather, he seems early to collaborate on several occasions, Andrea Pall-
have looked to the work of artists from further adio. In his Four Books on Architecture (1570),
afield. Among these were Parmigianino, Palladio reports that his Palazzo da Porto in
whose compositions he could have known Vicenza had been decorated with frescos and
through engravings or drawings, Francesco stuccos by several Veronese artists including
Salviati, who visited Venice in 1539, ^nd Paolo, "a most excellent painter." Veronese's
Giulio Romano who, until his death in 1546, reputation seems rapidly to ha\'e spread. Also
was court artist in nearby Mantua, a city in 1552, together with several other Veronese
which had long been influential for Verona's painters, he was invited by cardinal Ercole
visual culture. Examples of Giulio's work were Gonzaga to paint altarpieces for the cathedral
readily accessible in the Duomo in Verona. A in Mantua. Veronese's Temptation of St.

debt to the artifice of the Mannerist painting A)tthom/ (Caen, Musee des Beaux-Arts) shows
of nearby Emilia and Lombardy is also e\'ident again a marked interest in Central Italian
in the composition and the handling of color artists, in particular Michelangelo and Rosso
in Veronese's earliest works. Fiorentino, but in the handling of color he was
More important for Veronese's future clearly emulating Titian. By the 1550s Titian
development was the presence of the Ver- was the outstanding artist working in Venice,
onese architect Michele Sanmicheli, who and had achiexed an international reputation,
spent much of his career in the service of the numbering man>' of the crowned heads of
Venetian empire, and who had many contacts Europe among his patrons. Echoes of his work
2 Paolo \ eronese
Jupiter expelling crimes and wees, 1553-54
Oil on canvas, 560 x 330 cm
Paris, Musee du Lou\Te
The subject is not recorded in classi-
cal mythology, but was probably
invented with reference to the res-
ponsibility for law and order
of the Council of Ten, for
whose room in the Doges
Palace the picture was orig-
inally painted. The tumbl-
ing muscular figures recall
the work of Michel-
angelo, though the
e.xtreme foreshortening
suggests that \eronese
had been studying Tin-
toretto's work as well.
 can be traced in other early paintings by decided to decorate the Sala del Consiglio dei
Veronese, such as his Giustiniani altarpiece Died (the Room of the Council of Ten) and
(Venice, San Francesco della Vigna) of about two other rooms there. The work was entrus-
1551, suggesting that Veronese was studying ted to a mediocre artist, Giambattista Pon-
Titian's work with care. But his practice of chino, who chose as his collaborators Zelotti
combining Central Italian and Venetian and Veronese. Veronese executed several can-
sources suggests that he was well aware of vases with allegorical subjects for the ceiling,
contemporary theoretical debate on the rela- including the imposing Jupiter expelling crimes
tive merits of disegfio and color, and seeking to and vices (1), and two works still in sihi, Juno
extend it. bestozcing gifts upon Venice, and a picture tradi-
The year 1553 was the last in which Ver- tionally entitled Youth and Age (more plausibly
onese was living in Verona. He decided identified as Satitni ami Vefiice). The program
instead to seek out the greater opportunities for the subjects depicted in this room was
for patronage that Venice had to offer. The devised by the scholarly Daniele Barbaro,
demand for art in Venice was immense at this who was shortly to become a major patron of
time. Not only was there a large ruling aris- Veronese.
tocracy who were keen to acquire portraits The success of these works shortly brought
and works v\ith mythological and allegorical further public commissions. In 1556-57 Ver-
themes, but there were numerous confrater- onese was in\ited to participate in the decora-
nities OTsciu?le, requiring altarpieces and cycles tion of the (former) reading room of St. Mark's
of religious narratives to decorate their Library with other artists including Schiavone
chapels and meeting houses. The state, too, and Zelotti. Paolo contributed three circular
was an important source of commissions, for canvases, including Music (3). A competition
official paintings emphasizing Venice's glor\-. was held for the best of these paintings, with
Besides Titian, who was by now painting rela- Titian and the architect Jacopo Sansovino as
tively little for Venetian clients, a group of judges. Music won, and Veronese was
younger artists had already emerged, notably awarded a gold chain. Titian's real admiration
Jacopo Tintoretto, as well as Giuseppe Porta is evident in his own work of the years imme-
and Andrea Schiavone. It is likel>' that Ver- diately foOowing, in which his handling of
onese was drawn to Venice by the prospect of color is markedly influenced by that of the
work in the Doges Palace. In 1555-54 it was younger artist.

Detail of 2
3 Paolo Veronese
Music, 1556-57
Oil on canvas, diameter 230 cm
Venice, Libreria Vecchia di San Marco
The commission to decorate the ceiling of this
room in Jacopo Sansovino's recently completed
St.Mark's Library with allegorical subjects,
many relating to learning and the liberal arts,
was awarded by the Venetian state. The antique
setting with a statue of Pan is highly
characteristic of Veronese's work (see 18). The
wingless Cupid may have been intended to
underline the connection of music with love. Detail of 3
 The church of San Sebastiano
^-555 Veronese was commissioned to
In
paint the first of a number of works
executed over many years for San Sebastiano
in Venice, a church which he was to make his

monument, just as the Scuola di San Rocco

would become Tintoretto's. After decorating
the ceiling of the sacristy with the Coronation
of the Virgin and the Four Evangelists, Veronese
was asked to paint canvases to be set in the
elaborate coffering of the ceiling of the main
body where he depicted three
of the church,
scenes from the Book
of Esther, and around
them angels, decorative balustrades and alle-
gorical figures (4). The ceiling canvases are
notable for their color warm reds and yel-
lows and rich greens as well as their skilful
illusionism. Veronese's draughtsmanship and
virtuosity in foreshortening are most appar-
ent in the terrifying Tnimiph of Mordecai (5), in
which the ground stops abruptly, giving the
viewer the impression that the horses are
about to leap down out of the canvas. The
steeply foreshortened architecture in the
background was to become a favorite device
of Veronese in ceiling painting (see 34).
4 Paolo Veronese Veronese's association with San Sebastiano
Esther crowned by Ahasuerus, 1556
was soon renewed when, in 1558, he was
Oil on canvas, 450 x 370 cm
commissioned to paint the upper part of the
V'enice, San Sebastiano
walls with scenes from the life of St. Sebastian.
Richly moulded and gilt ceilings inset with
painted canvases were fashionable
From about 1559 to 1561 he painted the
in l6th-
centurj' Venice. The stor>' of Esther was organ shutters and the high altarpiece with
probably chosen for the ceiling of the church the Virgin and Child in glory hovering over
because her life was considered to prefigure St. Sebastian and other saints. Sebastian was
Mary. The Persian king
that of the Virgin not only the church's dedicatee but was often
Ahasuerus, having banished the queen Vashti, invoked to intercede in the frequent outbreaks
chose the humble Jewish daughter of Mordecai, of plague with which Venice was afflicted. In
Esther, as his bride: her coronation is shown in this altarpiece the saint's head is shown in
this scene in the center of the ceiling.
deep shadow, a device previously used by
Titian(St. Mark enthroned, Venice, Santa Maria
Detail of 4
deOa Salute, C1512) to suggest that an epi-
demic was gripping the city.
5 Paolo Veronese 6 Paolo Veronese
lite triumph of Mordecai, 1556 St. Sebastian leading Sts Mark and MarcelUan to
Oil on can\as. 500 x 370 cm their martyrdom, 1565
V'enice, San Sebastiano
Oil on canvas, 355 x 540 cm
The Book of Esther, 6, recounts that Mordecai's X'enice, San Sebastiano
service to .Aiiasuerus was rewarded when he According to the Golden Legend, a medieval
was arrayed in fine clothes and paraded account of the lives of many early saints, Mark
through the streets on horseback. Other and Marcellian were begged by their relatives
Venetian painters, such as Pordenone not to go to their death, but were persuaded to
(Conversion of Si. Paul, Spilimbergo cathedral, seek immortal glory by Sebastian. Sebastian,
1525) and Moretto (Conversion of St. Pnul, shown in armor in the center, gestures
Milan, Santa Maria presso San Celso, 1540-41), commandingly, while the mother of one of the
had explored the dramatic effects of rearing martyrs pleads urgently that they should not
horses foreshortened, and Veronese himself go. Veronese creates iridescent effects, with
had done so in his \iamis Curtius (Vienna, much golden yellow, pink, and red to suggest
Kunsthistorisches Museum, CI551), but never the sheen of silks, harmonizing with the golden
to such bold effect as here. glow in the sky.
7 Paolo Veronese
The martyrdom of St. Sebastian, 1 565

Oil on canvas, 335 x 540 cm

Venice, San Sebastiano

St. Sebastian was martyred by being beaten to death after refusing to worship pagan idols. The
saint's pose is based on that of St. Lawrence in Titian's Martyrdom of St. Laivrence (Venice, Church
of the Gesuiti, cl 548-57).
 Finally in 1565 Veronese painted three can-
vases for the choir of the church, illustrating
further events in the life of St. Sebastian,
including St. Sebastian leading Sts Mark atid
Marcellian to tlieir nmrti/rdom and the Martyr-
dom of St. Sebastian, which well exemplifies
Veronese's ability to bring narrative clarity to
crowded scenes (6 and 7).

A rather different mood is evoked in certain

early devotional works (1), in which Veronese
reveals a deeply felt spirituality, and this in
turn foreshadows the intensity of his late
religious pictures. But in other religious narra-
tives of this period Veronese combined piety
with a strong tendency to decorative effect.
The Supper at Enmuiits (8), a subject usually

depicted in a humble inn, is set alternatively in

a splendid Palladian loggia, while the donor's
tamily in contemporary' finery crowds around
to watch.
8 Paolo Veronese
Tite Supper at Emmaus, 155960
Oil on canvas, 290 x 448 cm
Paris, Musee du Louvre
The event depicted is recounted in Luke, 24, 1332. After His death, Christ appeared to two of the
apostles on the road to Emmaus, but they did not recognize Him until at supper He blessed and
broke the bread. The disciples' bold gestures express their surprise. Veronese's fondness for
animals, which appear constantly in his works, religious and secular, is evident in the affectionate
gestures of the children playing with their pet dogs, oblivious to the miraculous event.
 The Villa Barbaro at Maser
the late 1550s Veronese had established
By a circle of patrons drawn from the aristo-
cratic families of the Veneto and from a sec-
tion of the clergy with enlightened humanist
leanings. Among these was the Patriarch elect
of Aquileia, Daniele Barbaro (9), who together

with his brother Marcantonio had commis-

sioned Palladio to build a grand villa at Maser,
near Castelfranco, as a place of leisure and for
agriculture, probably around 1557-58. Out-
side there was a nymphaeum with sculpture
by Alessandro Vittoria. Within, the central
part of the living quarterson the main floor
was decorated throughout by Veronese in
about 156061 with frescos which perfectly
complement Palladio's architecture. This
makes it all the more curious that Palladio
omits all mention of Veronese's work there in
his Foitr Books.

The frescos at Maser are supreme examples

of Veronese's capacity to invent a pictorial
language which breathed life into abstract
personifications. His figureshave a naturalism
which is entirely absent from comparable sub-
jects in contemporary Central Italian paint-

ings, which tend to be laden with complex

attributes. It is, however, precisely this natur-
alism which has made it difficult until recently
for scholars to identify some of the figures. It

seems that, as in so many sixteenth-century

villas, much of the decoration was intended to
reflect or allude to the fianctions of the villa.

Daniele Barbaro was already experienced at

devising allegorical subjects (see above), and
it is likely that he was responsible for those
painted at Maser.
The vault of the Salone, also known as the
Sala dell'Olimpo, was frescoed by Veronese
with a cosmological scheme (10). The woman
in the center, riding on a dragon, has been

identified as Wisdom, an appropriate figure

 for a patron of Barbaro's learning. She is sur- Illusionism is the major feature of Ver-
rounded by deities representing the planets onese's decoration of the crossing in the cen-
Apollo for the sun, Venus, Mercur>', Diana for tral part of the villa (11). The entire wall
the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars and the surface is given a complex fictive architecture.
signs of the zodiac. Veronese here skilfully Between Composite columns arches appear to
adapted to a secular context a device first used open onto romantic landscapes; women, per-
by Correggio (Vision of St. John on Pahnos, San haps representing the Muses, stand in niches,
Giovanni Evangelista, Parma, 1520-24) to playing musical instruments; spears and ban-
suggest that the ceiling is opened to reveal a ners seem to lean against the walls, and figures
heavenly vision. In the four comers are more appear to look into the room through trompe-
gods who stand for the four elements: Juno as I'ail doors.
air, Neptune as water, Cybele as earth, and one of the adjoining rooms, the Stanza di
In
Vulcan as fire. Two lunettes show the four Bacco (12), Veronese paid tribute to the tutel-
seasons, with Venus and Vulcan in their differ- ary gods of the place, the Genius of the house
ent capacities of spring and winter respect- and the Lares, the household deities of the
ively at one end of the vault, and Ceres and ancient Romans, as a Latin inscription on the
Bacchus at the other, as summer and autumn. wall indicates. They are depicted in correct
Veronese's love of illusionism is apparent in classical attire receiving wine from Bacchus,
the painted balustrades which form a frieze on and the pleasurable consequences of his gift,
the upper part of the other two walls. Between music-making and sleep are represented. Ver-
white "Salomonic" columns, figures and onese again illustrates themes appropriate to
animals dog and an ape peer down at
a the purpose of the building. On either side of
the spectator. The rest of the walls below are this scene are painted pergolas, laden with
treated in a manner which is found through- grapes, evoking leisurely late-summer days
out the villa: between frescoed Composite spent in the shade. The walls of this room are
colurruis, allegorical figures stand in niches, treated in a manner similar to those of the
and the wall appears to open onto landscapes Stanza dell'Olimpo.
full of ancient ruins. It has proved difficult to identify with cer-
tainty the subjects on the
another ceiling of
9 Paolo Veronese
room, the Stanza del Cane, but the most plaus-
Daniele Barbara, CI565 70
Oil on canvas, 121 x 105 an
ible interpretation is that it shows an allegory
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseiun of Fortune refusing her rewards to Nobility
This portrait, whichis generally agreed to date when accompanied by Discord, a visual
from some time after Veronese's work at encouragement to the hvo brothers who
Maser, shows Barbaro in ecclesiastical dress, owned the villa to remain in harmony. The
turning as if to show an interlocutor the book room takes its name from the appealing small
he holds. His learning, and in particular his spaniel which is painted at the foot of one of
interest in classical architecture, are stressed by the walls, before a curved frame opening onto
the fact that the open pages are from the
a landscape (13).
edition of Vitruvius's treatise
on architecture
which he had published with a commentary in
1556.
10 Paolo Veronese 1 1 Paolo Veronese
Ceiling of the Sala dellOIimpo, f 1560-61 Frescos in the crossing, CI56061
Fresco Maser, Villa Barbaro
Maser. Villa Barbaro
Veronese's fictive architectural setting
The appearances of the gods in this room and perfectlycomplements the existing structure. If
in others at Maser follow the descriptions in a the women with instruments do indeed
mythological handbook commonly used by represent the Muses, their presence is entirely
16th-century artists, Vincenzo Cartaris Images appropriate in a villa as a place of pleasure
of the Gods (1556). Veronese treats his subjects combined with intellectual pursuits.
with gentle wit, for example in the affectionate
pose of Diana, nose to nose with her hound.
12 Paolo Veronese 13 Paolo Veronese
Ceiling of the Stanza di Bacco, 1 561 End wall of the Stanza del Cane, CI56061
Fresco Fresco
Maser, Villa Barbaro Maser, \illa Barbaro

The dress of all the figures in this scene closely Veronese creates the illusion of a seascape seen
follows the prescriptions in Cartari's through the opening in the apparently ciu-ved
mythological handbook. Bacchus in the center wall. The Holy Family with Sts Catherine and
crushes grapes into the cup proffered by one of John the Baptist above is one of the very few

the Lares. They are shown as young men in religious images in the vUla.
hunting gear with attendant dogs. The Muse
has the traditional feather in her hair, and Sleep
is wrapped in black and white sheets, while the
horn beside him denotes oblivion.
 Allegory, myth and ancient
history

Veronese's ability to use mythological

characters and personifications to
convey a range of messages and moods found
expression in a number of canvases painted
from the mid- 1560s on. Many are concerned
with the vicissitudes of love, and their sheer
number suggests considerable demand for
this type of work, at which Titian had
excelled, and which had long been popular in

Veruce. The foibles of the gods are wittily sent

up in pictures such as Venus
artd Mercury present Eros and Anteros to ]npiter

(formerly Contini-Bonacossi Collection,

Florence), probably painted shortly after the
frescos at Maser. Here Jupiter, resting his
scepter comically on his eagle, is enthroned on
high but we see him only from the knees
down, an apparently unprecedented device.
So too, in the later Venus, Mars ami Cupid (14)
the erotic content is gently and humorously
defused, as Cupid knowingly distracts the
14 Paolo Veronese
lovers. Similarly, in another painting, Vmus
Vetms, Alars and Cupid, CI580
and Mars hound by Cupid (New York, Metro- Oil on canvas. 47 x 47 cm
politan Museum of Art, C1580), Cupid again Turin, Calleria Sabauda

hinders the couple, this time by tying their Mars, about to seduce \'enus, is unexpectedly
legs together. interrupted by Cupid's absurdly leading his
A range of conflicting emotions is depicted horse into the bedchamber. The intimate

in the four Allegories of Love in the National setting with the scarlet drapes of the bed
contrasts with the open sky seen behind Cupid.
Gallery, London (1518). Their patron and
\eronese treated the theme of Mars and \enus
purpose are unknowTi, but the steeply angled
on a number of occasions, but this is perhaps
foreshortening and the way in which the fig-
the most amusing.
ures are seen from below indicate that they
were originally intended to decorate a ceiling.
The subject matter suggests that they may
have been conimissioned to celebrate a wed-
ding. The handling of paint in these works is
remarkably free, and the treatment of color is

\'er\' rich, with strong yellows, greens, and

crimsons contrasting with the cool flesh tones.
15 Paolo Veronese
Allegory of Love I ("Happy Union"), CI565
Oil on canvas, 187.4 x 186.7 cm
London. National Galler>'

The scene of happiness here depicted stands apart from the rest of this series. A richly clad
woman, dressed in rose and gold brocade, is crouTied with myrtle, a traditional sxtnbol of
conjugal love, by a woman naked but for her veil and girdle, who sits on a globe and a cornucopia.
Though usually identified as Venus, her attributes are remarkably reminiscent of those of Fortune
in the Stanza del Cane at Maser (13). In her left hand the woman holds an olive branch, signifying
peace. It is also held by the man, who gazes on Fortune /\'enus in awe, as does the dog, which
alludes to fidelity.
16 Paolo Veronese
Allegory of Love 11 ("Infidelity"), 1:1565
Oil on canvas, 189.9 - 189.9 cm
London, NationaJ GaIIer\

At the center of the composition is a naked woman seen from behind, seated on a dark green
cloth. She seems to be rejecting the enamored man in gold on the right and turning to a new lover,
slipping him a letter. The foliage of the trees is in harmony with the cloth on which she sits.
17 Paolo Veronese
Allegory of Love III ("Respect"), CI565
Oil on canvas, 186. 1 x 194.3 cm
London, National Gallery

A man clad in gold with a deep green cloak is led, somewhat hesitatingly, by an impatient Cupid,
brandishing an arrow, to gaze upon the sleeping nude woman, who is apparently overcome by the
wine once contained in the glasson the ledge. The man's features are similar to those of the
rejected lover in "Infidelity". The sensual treatment of the woman's flesh is emphasized by the
contrasting white sheet and vivid crimson drapery.
18 Paolo Veronese
Allegory of Love IV ("Disillusionment'), CI565
Oilon canvas, 186.6 x 188.5 cm
London, National Gallery

A bare-breasted woman watches with apparent scorn as a man is chastised by Cupid, who stands
on his chest, beating him with bow. The woman's companion holds an ermine, emblematic of
his
chastity. The cause of the man's plight is underlined by the fragmentary statues of a satyr and Pan,
figures generally associated with lust.
Veronese is concerned here, above all, to
explore the psychology of conflict in love,
with the protagonists intensely engaged. The
paintings seem to have been conceived in

pairs to show contrasting states. Thus "Happxi

Union" (15), in which a woman is faithfully

united with a man, contrasts with "Infidelihi"

(16), in which a woman spurns one lover, pos-

sibly the same man, for a new lover. Similarly,

"Respect" (17) presents a deferential man look-

ing on a sleeping woman, while "Disillu-
sionment" (18) shows a scornful woman
watching the punishment of a man. This kind
of pairing of pictures to convey a series of
ideas in apposition, sometimes referred to as
contrapposti, was common at this period,
having, for example, been used to notable
effect by Titian in a series of mythological
paintings for Philip II of Spain.
Veronese continued this practice in two
more pairs of pictures, in which a profound
interest in psychological states is again 19 Paolo Veronese
evident.The first pair was a highly prestigious Otntiia vanitas, 156768
commission. In 1567 a dealer and antiquarian, Oil on canvas, 214.6 > 167011

Jacopo Strada, was working in Venice New York. Frick Collection

acquiring paintings for duke Albrecht V of

The contrast between the moods of the two
figures is emphasized by the crossing diagonals
seems to have been a some-
Bavaria. Strada
of their poses and the different directions in
what unscrupulous character. Titian, who
which they gaze. The figure of Hercules was
painted his portait at this time, is reported to
based on a celebrated antique statue, the
have described him as "one of the most pom-
Famese Hercules.
pous idiots you will ever find." Strada never-
theless acquired some impressive works for Detail of 19
his master, including two allegories by Ver-
onese, which may have been commissioned to
mark the wedding of Albrecht's son. The
themes of both works are indicated by inscrip-
tions. In Oimiia vanittis (All is vanity) (19) the
theme (from the Book of Ecclesiastes) is con-
veyed in the contrast between the two figures.
The woman in sumptuous brocade, gazing

upwards and with the sun shining above her

head, symbolizes Divine Wisdom. Her superi-
ority over worldly matters is suggested not
.Ct
^["^lir^^"

'^-.k;;
 only by the globe on which her foot rests, and

the trappings of wealth and power scattered

on the ground, but also by the pensive,
defeated air of the second figure, Hercules,
emblem of physical strength. The companion
to this work. Honor et virtiis post mortem floret

(Honor and virtue flourish after death) (20),

illustrates a variation on a favorite Renaiss-
ance theme, the Choice of Hercules,in which

was presented with a choice between

the hero
two women, one representing Pleasure offer-
ing a life of sensuality, the other Virtue offer-
ing a hard path but ultimately true glory. In
Veronese's work the hero, clad in brilliant
white, escapes into the arms of a woman in

green and blue robes, wearing a crown of

laurel, who represents Virtue. He flees from
another woman sitting on a sphinx, against
which leans a vicious knife. She represents
Death, but has inflicted no worse injury than a

20 Paolo Veronese
tear in one of his hose. Together the two
Honor et virtus post mortem (Honor and
floret
paintings convey
message about the impor-
a

virtue flourish after death), 156768 tance of choosing the right path to overcome
Oil on canvas, 219 x 169.5 cm death and to achieve divine blessing.
New York, Frick Collection In a second, later pair of 1580, Veronese
The scene is set in one of Veronese's favorite once again exploited contrapposti, in order to
locations, a wooded grove, full of antique ruins.
bring out affinities and similarities in his sub-
The statue of Venus here is symbolic of the
jects. In Venus aiui Adonis (21) and Cephahis mid
sensual pleasures which the young man has
Procris (22) Veronese explores, again much in
rejected. The composition is, like 19, strongly
the manner of Titian, a genre known as poesin,
diagonalized, and is notable for the tenderly
a poetic recreation of a classical myth. Simi-
protective gestures of Honor and Virtue as
they embrace. larities in the theme of hunting, the wooded
setting, the dogs, and the rich brocades worn
Detail of 20 by the semi-nude women unite the pictures,
and underline the theme of tragic love. Venus
knows that her lover Adonis will be killed in

the hunt, while Cephalus discovers that he has

just accidentally killed his beloved Procris.
Veronese is here far from the frivolity of
Veniis, bAars and Cupid (14).
A gentler mood is to be found in the Rape of
Europa of 1573 (23). This had also been the
subject of one of Titian's poesie for Philip II
21 Paolo Veronese
Venus and Adonis, 1 580
Oil on canvas. 212 x 190 cm
(originally 162 x 190 cm)
Madrid, Prado
Later additions have been made to the picture at top and bottom. Veronese's subject was
described in Ovid's Metamorphoses (X, 555f ), and had been the subject of one of Titian's poesie
painted for the Spanish king Philip
II (Madrid, Prado, 1551-54). Venus's sad expression indicates

her knowledge that Adonis's sleep foreshadows his death.

22 Paolo Veronese
Cephalus and Procris, 1580
Oil on canvas, 162 x 190 cm
Strasbourg, Musee des Beaux-Arts
As in 21, the subject derives from Ovid's Metamorphoses (VII, 835f), relating how jealous Procris,
mistaking Cephalus's cries to Aura, the breeze, for addresses to another lover, followed him
hunting one day. He, hearing a rustling in a bush, struck with his spear, thinking there was a wild
animal. Too late, he discovered that it was Procris hiding. She is here shown dying in his arms.
23 Paolo Veronese 24 Paolo Veronese
TIte rape of Europa, 1573 Tlte family of Darius before Alexander (detail),

Oil on canvas, 240 x 303 cm 1565H57

Venice, Palazzo Ducale Oil on canvas, 236.2 x 475 cm
The n\Tnph Europa has been induced to climb London, National Gallery

on the back of the bull that Jupiter has assumed
as a disguise, and as a means of carrying her off
(shown in the background). This work was
executed for Giacomo Contarini, a member of
one of the leading noble families of Venice, in
1573, as a surviving drawing shows.
This was probably commissioned by one of the
noble Venetian family of the Pisani. Veronese
uses the thinly painted Palladian arcade, from
which a crowd looks down, to enclose the
scene on a shallow stage. The white arcade also
provides a foil for the rich colors of the
costumes of the main protagonists. Veronese
freely mixes antique and contemporary
costume to enliven the scene.
(Boston, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, example of magnanimity. ^\fter the defeat of
155962). But where Titian had dwelt on the Persian army at the battle of Issus, the
Europa's terror, Veronese depicts a festive family of the defeated king Darius came
bridal procession. At the left Europa is seated before Alexander the Great to plead for
on the bull, Jupiter's disguise for this seduc- clemency. Darius's wife, misled by his greater
tion, being adorned by her attendants, while height, mistakenly addressed her petition to
the bull tenderly kisses her foot. Winged .Alexander's friend Hephaestion. Alexander
cupids shower the group with flowers. In the generously came to her rescue by stating that
middle ground to the right Europa is led down Hephaestion was indeed another Alexander.
to the seashore, and beyond the bull swims Great clarity is achie\ed by the grouping of
away, bearing her on his back. Veronese's the figures and by eloquent gestures, but Ver-
consummate skill in producing an elegant onese, in the spirit of the story, leaves it ambi-
variation on a common poetic theme is once guous whether the figure in red, wearing
more apparent. antique armor, is Alexander himself or
Subjects from ancient histor\' also offered Hephaestion gesturing towards Alexander.
Veronese the opportunity both to indulge his The dwarf at the left, who protectively shields
love of sumptuous settings and richly tex- his puppies from the chained monkey, is

tured fabrics and to demonstrate his subtlety included not as mere courtly detail, but serves
as a narrative painter. In the Family of Darhis to underline the psychological tension of the
before Alexander (24), he illustrates an event scene.
related by several classical historians a'; a"
 Feasts and other religious
works
Veronese was able to demonstrate his
inventiveness to good effect in a series of
commissions of the 1560s and 1570s illustra-

ting biblical feasts. Feast scenes were con-

sidered appropriate decoration for monastic
refectories. In 1562 Veronese was engaged to
paint yet another work to be set in one of
Palladio's buildings, the vast Feast at Cana now
in the Louvre (25), which was originally
painted for the refectory of San Giorgio Mag-
giore in Venice. As at Maser, he skilfully

adapted the painted architecture to harmonize

with the existing space, and the dominant
horizontal of the balustrade, which empha-
sizes Christ's position at the picture's vanish-

ing point, echoes Palladio's heavy cornice in

the original setting. The crowded scene is

carefully contained within an almost theatrical

architectural perspective. The contract for this
work required Veronese to paint "as many
figures as could be comfortably fitted in, and
as were appropriate." He certainly obliged,
and illustrates a wide range of attitudes: Christ
and Mary at the center are calm and reflective,

while the guests feast, once again in splendid

contemporary dress; the servants pour the
wine, miraculously created from water by

25 Paolo Veronese
The feast at Cana, 156263
Oil on canvas, 669 x 990 cm
Paris, Musee du Louvre
The picture illustrates Christ's first miracle, as
recounted in the Gospel of St. John, 2, I 10.
The group of musicians represents Veronese's
tribute to the major living artists of Venice. The
man playing a viola da gamba is Titian,
Veronese himself, in white, plays a viol, as does
Tintoretto behind him.
26 Paolo Veronese
The feast of St. Gregoty the Great, 1572
Oil on canvas, 477 x 862 cm
Vicenza, Santuario di Monte Berico

During one of the feasts which St. Gregory

habitually offered to the poor, Christ
miraculously appeared, shown on the saint's
right. The scroll borne by the angels carries the
legend "May the peace of God always be with
you."
Christ, from great pitchers, and offer it to the
bridal couple at the far left; the feast's gover-
nor holds up a glass appreciatively. Veronese
introduces a wealth of anecdotal detail: music-
ians play, a dwarf with a parrot approaches the
dogs wait hopefully for scraps, one even
table,

walking on the table, a woman idly picks her

teeth. The color is sumptuous. The tone is

entirely secular and celebratory'.

Veronese's approach is ver>' similar in the
Feast of St. Gregon/ the Great, painted in 1572
for the refectory of the Sanctuary of Monte
Berico at Vicenza (26). Set in a magnificent
loggia of white stone against a receding per-
spective of Palladian-style buildings, Ver-
onese includes many favorite elements:
figures crowding up the symmetrical stairs to

witness the miracle, a pet monkey, and a page

cuddling a small dog. The holy figures St.

Gregory, in papal robes, Christ and the

cardinals are all seated within the central
bay of the loggia, while the poor, though
sympathetically depicted, are excluded to the
outer two bays, a decorous compositional
device which Veronese was to repeat. The
whiteness of the architecture once again
enhances the costumes in characteristic Ver-
onese colors of gold, magenta, scarlet, dark
green, and black.
A variant on this setting was produced by
Veronese the following year in the painting
known as the Feast hi the house of Levi (27).
Commissioned for the refectory of Santi Gio-
vanni e Paolo, Venice, this work teOs us much
about Veronese's personality and his
approach to his art. Since the closure of the
Council of Trent in 1564, pressure to enact
reform within the Catholic Church, and to
increase spiritual awareness in society, had
grown inexorably. In particular the Inquisi-
tion, with its authority over censorship, had
become powerful in Venice. One effect of the
general shift in attitudes was that the demand
27 Paolo Veronese
The feast in the house of Levi, 1573
Oil on canvas, 555 x 1280 cm
Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia

Like Leonardo in his Last Supper. Veronese has

depicted themoment at which Christ
announces his imminent betrayaL Judas turns
away and looks out of the picture. Veronese
presents a subtle range of reactions, separating
the seriousness of the apostles' responses from
the festivity of many of the onlookers, who are
unaware of the full import of Christ's
statement.
tor pictures with erotic mythological subjects
declined from the 1580s. But Veronese also
came into direct conflict with the Inquisition.
Shortly after the unveiling of the painting, he
was summoned before the Inquisition to
answer certain charges about its decorum.
Though it is often said that the Catholic
Reformation imposed strict constraints on
artists over the correct and decorous
depiction of religious narrative, this is the only
recorded occasion in the sixteenth century on
which an artist was ordered to make changes
 to a work, and e\'en in this case Veronese
seems to have got off lightly. The transcripts
of Veronese's have survived, and his
trial

answers show both an intelligent, often ironic

wit, and the care which Veronese took to
make his images appropriate to their subject
matter.
The picture was commissioned to replace a
Last Supper by Titian, which had been
destroyed in a fire in 1571, and was almost
certairJy intended to have the same subject.
Indeed, to some extent the central part of the
picture adheres to standard iconographic con-
vention. Veronese's difficulties arose, how-
ever, because he treated his theme with the
inventiveness and theatricality of his previous
Unfortunately, the Inquisition seems to
feasts.

have regarded such an approach to such a

sacred subject as too frivolous. Veronese was
asked why he had included such objectionable
features as the prominent dog near the center,
the dwarf with a parrot, the servant leaning on
the balustrade, whose nose is bleeding, and
the German (in other words, presumably Prot-
28 Paolo \'eronese estant) soldiers at the far right. His response
The vision of St. Helena, c 1570 79 cm was to suggest that such figures were suitable
Oilon canvas. 197.5 " 1 5.6 cm
1 for the household of a man as grand as the
London. National Gallerv
host, and that they were there as ornament.
The simplicitj- of the composition only serves
As Catm, he was commissioned,
in the Feast at
to emphasize the refined treatment of texture
so he said, to adorn the picture as he saw fit,
and the subtle handling of color, particularly in
and because it was so large it required many
the salmon and ochre of the saint's dress
against the cloudy sky framed by the dark gray
figures. He claimed artistic licence: "We
stone windowsill. The dating of this work is far
painters take the same licence as poets and
from precise, though all critics are agreed that madmen." The Inquisition, not satisfied with
it belongs to the 1570s. this response, gave orders that the picture be

improved and changed. In practice, the

alteration was minimal. Veronese merely
added an inscription identifying the scene as
the Feast in the house of Levi, giving a reference
to Luke, 5, thereby altering the title but none
of the essentials of the picture. This leads one
to suspect that the Inquisiton was capable of
greater tolerance than is generally supposed.
29 Paolo Veronese
The presentation of the Cuccina family to the
Virgin, 1571
Oil on canvas, 167 x 414 cm
Dresden, Gemaldegalerie

Thisis one of four canvases (all now in

Dresden) commissioned to decorate a room in

the Cuccina palace. On the opposite wall hung
The \May to Calvary while on the lateral walls
were The Adoration of the Magi, and The feast
at Cana (more restrained in treatment than 25).
The picture can be accurately dated from the
ages of certain members of the family.
 In certain religious works of the 1570s Ver- Similar sobriety is to be found in The presen-
onese adopted a more sober approach. The tation of the Cuccina family to t\ie Virgin (29).
composition of the Vision of St. Heletui (28) is The family is shown in a hall opening onto the
strikingly simple, and derives ultimately from Grand Canal, with their own palace depicted
a work of Parmigianino, via an engraving. The in the background. They are presented to the
mother of the first Christian emperor, Con- Holy Group by Faith, Hope and Charity, in
stantine, is shown asleep before a window, her their traditional colors of white, green, and
elbow leaning on the frame. Two angels sup- red. The Virgin and Child, together with Sts
port the True Cross, which she was to redis- John the Baptist and Jerome and an angel, are
cover, on a diagonal which echoes that of the separated from the family's space by the two
body. The iconography of this work is
saint's columns, a decorous arrangement Veronese
most unusual, but Veronese presents it effec- had used before (26 and 27). In comparison
tively and economically, relying above all on with the Supper at Enmwus (8), Veronese's
his skill as a colorist. treatment seems more restrained and more in
mJL ^
 line with Cai:holic Reformation standards of
propriety.
However,
in other religious works of the

1570s,where the subject might seem to

demand simplicity, Veronese continued to
indulge his love of sumptuous effect. For
example, in ne Adoration of the Magi (30), the
ramshackle stable is located amid the ruins of a
grandiose classical building symbolizing the
destruction of the old order. Veronese's eye
for the exotic is manifested in the rich cos-

tumes of the Magi and in the inclusion of a

camel. The awe-struck shepherds peer round

the ruined architecture at the spectacle.The
drama is intensified by the diagonal shaft of
divine light which streams down on the
Virgin and Child. Similar effects appear in The
Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine (31), where the
30 Paolo Veronese
richness of the fabric's textures reaches an
Vie Adoration of the Magi, 1573
extraordinary degree of extravagance. This
Oil on canvas, 355 x 320 cm
London, National Gallery picture prompted an observation by the
Originally intended for the church of San seventeenth-century critic Marco Boschini
Silvestro in Venice, this large picture was that "One could say that to achieve these
painted at a time when Veronese was effects the painter laid on gold, pearls, rubies,
exceptionally busy, and the work of assistants emeralds, very fine sapphires, and pure and
is evident in some of the handling. Nonetheless perfect diamonds."
the treatment of color is characteristically Similar in treatment is the exquisite Finding
splendid. The work is dated 1572 on the lowest Moses (32), a theme which Veronese tackled
of
step.
on a number of occasions. Pharaoh's daughter,
taking pity on the hidden infant, is shown on
Detail of 30
the riverbank as a sixteenth-century princess,
dressed in fine gold and silver silk, surrounded
by her attendants. This subject enjoyed a revi-
val during the 1580s, perhaps because the
theme, with the decline in demand for secular
pictures as a result of the altered spiritual
climate, still offered painters the chance of
creating rich pictorial effects.
31 Paolo Veronese
The Mystic Marriage of
St. Catherine, 1575
Oil on canvas. 337 x 241 cm
Venice, Callerie
dellAccademia
This was the high
altarpiece for the
church of Santa
Caterina in Venice. The
composition is derived
from one of Titian's
most celebrated
altarpieces, the Pesaro
Madonna (\'enice,
Santa Maria Gloriosa
dei Frari, 1519-26).

32 Paolo Veronese
The finding of Moses,
1580
Oil on canvas, 50 x 43 cm
Madrid, Prado

The subject of this

picture is derived from
Exodus, 2. .Although
N'eronese produced
several versions of this
subject, this is

generally agreed to be
the finest, with its

subtle color and airy

landscape.
^^'^"^'^-
_^^^.'
 The Doge's Palace
While painting for private patrons and
religious institutions, Veronese had
continued to be employed by the Venetian
state to decorate the Doge's Palace. It was
traditional to adorn the seat of the Republic's
government with historical and allegorical
subjects which emphasized Venice's glorious
history' and underlined the qualities required

of her rulers to continue this tradition. Unfor-

tunately much of the early sixteenth-century
decoration by artists including Gio\-anni Bell-
ini, Carpaccio, and Titian was
Giorgione,
destroyed two disastrous fires of May 1574
in

and December 1577. The result was an

extended campaign to replace the decoration,
to which Veronese, as well as Jacopo Tin-
toretto and others, made a major contribution.
From 1575 to 1578 Veronese worked on
paintings for the Sala del Collegio. He painted
canvases to be set in the gilded coffered ceO-
ing (33). A central oval shows Faith, and at
either end are two rectangular canvases. One ii Paolo X'eronese
represents Adiirs ami Nephine, gods of war and Ceiling of the Sala del Collegio, 157578
of the sea; the message is that they will Oil on can\ as
together protect \enice. Palazzo Ducale
Venice, should she be
attacked. The other shows Venice herself
This room \vas the seat of the powerful
"College", responsible for formulating and
enthroned on a globe, approached by Justice
carrying out the business of the Senate. The
and Peace, to suggest that in peacetime her
central scenes and the allegorical figures
empire will be fairly governed. In eight
represent the qualities required of its members:
smaller canvases other personifications are
war, and the upholding of religion and law
depicted with great clarity and coloristic bril-
were all responsibilities of the Collegio.
liance. Their attributes and actions are often
unusual for example. Moderation removes
some of the wing feathers from an eagle, to
prevent it flying too high. But their meaning is

underlined by the flanking grisaille scenes, in

which figures from ancient histor\- exemplify

these virtues.
Veronese also produced for the Doge's
Palace the picture of Doge SebastUvio Vetiier

giving tluviks for victon/ at Lqianto, as well as

designs for tapestries to adorn the walls of the Veronese's Triimiph of Venice (34), located
same room. Surviving drawings (Budapest, above the Doge's throne, is the culmination of
Szepmiiveszeti Muzeum) and a painted an illusionistic painter. The program
his skill as
canvas (Lucca, Pinacoteca Nazionale) indicate work survives, although its author is
for this
that the subjects were drawn from Venetian unknown. Veronese was required to depict
history. It is however, certain that the
not, "Venice sitting above and countries in
cities

tapestries were ever woven, and Tintoretto imitation of Rome Above

her head a small
and his assistants later (158184) provided winged Victory flying and crowning her with
paintings for the walls, showing various laurel. Around the Victory should be Peace,

doges adoring the Virgin, Christ, and a Abundance, Fame, Happiness, Honor,
number of saints. While Veronese was work- Security and Liberality . . . with multitudes of
ing on the ceiling for the Sala del Collegio, " Although Veronese
people celebrating
Tintoretto was painting four allegorical pic- has rearranged some of the figures, he has
tures for the walls of the adjoining antecham- managed to translate this rather dry allegory
ber, the Sala del AntecoOegio. The warmth of into a most lively composition without
color and unusually high degree of finish in departing drastically from his instructions.
these works suggests that Tintoretto was well Veronese also made a design for the great
aware of his rival's success as state artist, and Paradise for the end wall of this room (Lille,

was seeking to emulate him. Musee des Beaux-Arts), probably in connec-

A little later the two painters both contrib- tion with a competition held between 1578
uted to the decoration of the largest public and 1582. In the event the commission
room in the Doge's Palace, the Sala del Mag- was awarded to Tintoretto, who painted
gior Consiglio, the meeting place of the Great his visionary version of this subject after
Council, which had about 2,000 members. Veronese's death, from 1588 to 1592.

34 Paolo Veronese
Triumph of Venice, 157982
OU on canvas, 904 x 580 cm
Venice, Palazzo Ducale

Veronese has organized this spectacular

composition for the vast Sala del Maggior
Consiglio (Great Council Hall) with
consummate skill. Characteristic elements the
elaborate foreshortened architecture, the
crowds leaning festively over a balustrade, the

horses rearing are combined to dramatize a
potentially static subject.
 Portraits

The demand for portraits among the

extensive aristocracy of Venice was very
considerable. Although portraiture formed a
relatively minor aspect of Veronese's output,
throughout his career he showed that he was
well aware of contemporary developments in
this genre. The influence of the Brescian
painters Moretto and Moroni is evident, par-
ticularly in his earliest portraits. But develop-
ments in Venetian portraiture were dominated
by Titian, who specialized in refined, rather
idealized portraits, which conveyed most
effectively the courtly ideals of sixteenth-
century Italy. Veronese's portrait of Daniele
Bnrhaw (9) is a good example of his assi-
milation of Titian's style. Among Veronese's
most admired female portraits is that com-
monly known as "La Bella Naiii" (35). The
pensive, almost fragile, blond sitter is shown
in three-quarter length, a format very much
favored by Titian. The portrait is distin-
guished above all by Veronese's skill in dif-

ferentiating the textures of silk, velvet and 35 Paolo Veronese

gauze within a limited palette of deep blue,

Portrait of a woman ("La Bella Nani"), CI562-63
Oil on canvas, 119 x 103 cm
silver and gold. He also exploited the canvas
Paris, Musee du Louvre
itself to enhance textures, a technique he used
The traditional title of this outstanding portrait
in other portraits of around this date (portrait
by Veronese derives from the fact that two
of ayoung man, Budapest, Szepmiiveszeti 17th-century sources mention a portrait by
Muzeum, C1565). These qualities were refined Veronese in the palace of the Nani family, but
still further in a very late male portrait in the the identification of the woman remains
Galleria Colonna, Rome. Here the frontal pose problematic.
and the confident gaze of the sitter present a
noble image, but the most striking quality of
the portrait is the subtle handling of color,
combining deep greens, blacks, and browns,
enlivened with an occasional touch of white.
 Late religious works

The subtlety and vibrancy of Veronese's with Christ in a slightly unstable pose, gazing
brushwork are even more apparent in his almost apprehensively at the dove of the
late religious works, which are much more Holy Spirit. Still greater movement is created
intense and more overtly pious than his earlier by the energetic angels circling Christ and St.
sacred images. The festive qualities so appar- John the Baptist. The setting and some of the
ent in his paintings of the 1570s are now set gestures are ultimately derived from one of
aside, and the mood becomes darker and more Titian's most admired and most intensely
tragic. To some extent this may reflect the dramatic altarpieces, Vie death of St. Peter
greater dominance of Catholic Reformation Marti/r (1:1526-30, formerly Venice, Santi
values. It has also been suggested that Ver- Giovanni e Paolo, destroyed 1867).
onese's increasingly poor health, and the ever In Tlie last cofmnunion and martx/rdom of St.
more demanding burdens of public commis- Litaj (37), the rather thin painting may be the
sions, such as those for the Doge's Palace, may result of Veronese's emulating Tintoretto's
have affected his approach. But equally impor- rapid brushwork. Certainly the rapid strokes
tantmust have been the success of Tintoretto of rose and ochre in the saint's dress and veil
and the influence of his
as a religious artist, achieve a nervous, agitated quality which
highly individual and emotional works, above underlines the tragedy of the event depicted.
all those in the Scuola di San Rocco. Veronese's coloristic skill is again used to
A good example of the new approach is the achieve religious intensity in St. Pantaleon lieals

Baptism ami Temptation of Christ (36). The a boy (38), one of his last works, painted a few
atmospheric landscape is a dominant feature, months before his death. The saint, in brilliant
two events. The enclosing dark
separating the red, stands out against the more neutral back-
woodland increases the drama of the Baptism, ground and the dark garments of the other
36 Paolo Veronese 37 Paolo Veronese
The Baptism and Temptation of Christ, 1582 The last communion and mart}/rdom of St. Luci/,

Oil on canvas, 248 x 450 cm CI 585-86

Milan, Brera Oil on canvas, 137 x 173 cm
This one of eleven canvases by Veronese for
is Washington, National Gallery of Art
the ceiling and walls of the church of San The virgin martyr is shown kneeling in the
Nicolo ai Frari in Venice. Christ's temptation by center of the canvas and receiving communion
the devil, which immediately followed his as she Is stabbed to death. Her mother, seen in
baptism (Matthew, 3-4) is shown in the middle on despairingly.
profile at the far left, gazes
ground on the right-hand side of the The emphasis on the Eucharist may well reflect
composition, overlooking the distant city. Catholic Reformation doctrines.
 figures.The twisting movement and the pious
upward gaze of the saint, recalling that of
Christ in the Baptism (36), add to the deep
spirituality of the altarpiece.

Veronese died on April 19, 1588, and was

buried in the church of San Sebastiano which
he had extensively decorated. His significance
as one of the most important Venetian
painters of the sixteenth century was not for-
gotten. His ability to create compositions
which effectively conveyed narrati\'e and his
brilliant handling of color ensured that his
work almost immediately became a key
influence for the new generation of painters
seeking to forge a new style, from which
emerged the Baroque. Since that time he has
enjoyed almost continuous popularity, his
work eliciting the praise of figures as diverse

as Ruskin and Delacroix. He has sometimes

been dismissed as a merely decorative painter
(notably by Sir Joshua Re>Tiolds). But one sus-
pects that this was a superficial evaluation of
his art, a response merely to his capacity to
combine rich and sensual textures and colors
in complex, crowded compositions. More
recent critical attention has rightly focussed
on \'eronese's close attention to his subject
matter, his intelligent interpretation of it, and
38 Paolo Veronese
his ability to give a clear narration, at the same
St. Pantaleon heals a boy, 1587
time as he created spectacular pictorial effects.
Oil on canvas. 277 x 160 cm
\'enice. San Pantaleone

Painted for the high altar of the Venetian

church dedicated to this saint, the work was
commissioned by a certain Bartolommeo
Borghi. The emphasis is on divine healing, as
the saint gazes up at the angel and cures a boy
bitten by a reptile.
 This book examines the work of one of the greatest of
Venetian artists whose work epitomized the decorative,

colorist tradition in Renaissance Venice.

It is one volume in a beautifully illustrated series on

famous artists written by noted authors. Here are the great

paintings as well as interesting aspects of the artist's

personality, his patrons, his critics, his influence

and place in history.

Paoki Veronese, Allegory of Love III ( - Respect"/

London. National Gallery

IN THE SAME SERIES

Garavaggio Leonardo Manet
Watteau

ISBN l-flS7S=l-0Da-2

$9.95 / 4.95 9 781857"59008r >