Veronese, Paolo (1528–1588)

Italian artist of the “Venetian school” who is considered one of the most important painters of Venice during the late Italian Renaissance. Born as Paolo Caliari in Verona, he was the son of a stonecutter, and gained the nickname “Veronese” from his native city. Veronese trained in the workshop of Antonio Badile. In 1548, he moved to Mantua, where he took part in the decoration of the city's cathedral. He then arrived in Venice, where he won many important commissions and where he remained for the rest of his life. As a younger artist he was influenced by the works of Giulio Romano and later by Titian.

Veronese became a master of the difficult art of fresco painting, in which paint is applied to wet plaster, with which it dries. He used brilliant colors and rich detail, and was keenly sensitive to the varying textures of fabric, stone, and sky. He was also skilled in the arts of perspective, foreshortening, and illusionistic painting, all of which became important ingredients in the Mannerist style developed in the works of the late Italian Renaissance. Many of his works explore religious and mythological themes, such as The Temptation of St. Anthony, completed in 1552. For the Doge's Palace in Venice he completed a famous ceiling painting, Jupiter Fulminating the Vices, and other works for the Sala del Consiglio, a major meeting hall of the palace, in 1554. After a fire destroyed a portion of the palace, Veronese helped to reconstruct and redecorate the building with two major works, Venice Ruling with Justice and Peace and Triumph of Venice. For the architect Andrea Palladio, Veronese painted natural and allegorical scenes on the walls and ceilings of the famous Palladian Villa Barbaro. Veronese adopted the classical building style of Palladio in the backgrounds of several of his large canvases, many of which depict grand processions, majestic assemblies, and lavish feasts.

Over a period of fifteen years, Veronese completed several important decorative works for the San Sebastiano church in Venice. Ceiling paintings illustrate the story of Esther, and employ dramatic foreshortening; the choir of the church is decorated with scenes from the life of Saint Sebastian. Two paintings he did for the organ shutters of the church change as the shutters open and close.

Other famous paintings by Veronese include Christ Among the Doctors, St. John Preaching, and The Supper at Emmaus. The Marriage at Cana is a huge and richly detailed canvas with portraits of Veronese, Titian, Tintoretto, and Jacopo Bassano, depicted as musicians seated at the feet of Christ. Veronese received several commissions to decorate refectories, or dining halls, for Venetian monasteries; these works include the Feast of St. Gregory the Great and Feast in the House of Simon. But he drew unwanted attention from the Inquisition for one of these works: a Last Supper, in which he included clowns, soldiers, dwarfs, and other irreverent figures. In response to this scolding by the religious authorities, he simply changed the name of the painting, one of the largest works of the Renaissance, to Feast in the House of Levi. Veronese established a busy workshop in Venice that survived his death under the management of his brothers and sons, and which remained an important influence in the painting of Venice for two centuries.

See Also: Tintoretto, Jacopo; Titian