Paolo Caliari, better known as Veronese, was born in Verona in 1528 and spent most of his artistic career in Venice, where he died in 1588. Along with Titian and Tintoretto, Veronese is considered one of the greatest masters of Venetian painting in the 16th century. Renowned for his large-scale paintings on religious and mythological subjects, Veronese left an indelible mark on the history of Western art.

The latest monograph in the Menarini Art Volumes series is dedicated to the artistic genius of Veronese. The work was curated by Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa, Director of Palazzo Madama – Museo Civico d’Arte Antica, and his father, Renzo Villa.

Among Veronese’s most famous works are masterpieces such as “The Wedding at Cana” (1563), “The Feast in the House of Levi” (1573), and “The Triumph of Venice” (1582). These paintings exemplify elaborate narrative cycles rendered in a dramatic and richly colored style, characterized by majestic architectural settings and lavish details. His crowded depictions of biblical feasts are particularly renowned, and adorn the refectories of monasteries in Venice and Verona.

Veronese was also the leading Venetian ceiling painter of his time. In 1553, he was commissioned to decorate the new rooms of the Doge’s Palace intended for the Council of Ten, and a few years later, he participated in the decoration of the ceiling of the Marciana Library. After the devastating fire of 1577 at the Doge’s Palace, Veronese was engaged, along with Tintoretto, to redecorate the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, where he created the immense oval canvas celebrating the “Triumph of Venice“.

His splendid ceilings can still be seen at the Doge’s Palace, the Church of San Sebastiano, and Villa Barbaro, while many of his works are now preserved in museums, including numerous portraits that reveal his mastery in capturing the essence of his subjects.

The series of “Feasts”

One of Veronese’s most famous creations is his series of large-scale scenes dedicated to evangelical banquets, commonly known as “The Feasts.” These grand canvases use Gospel episodes as a pretext to depict the lavish feasts of the Venetian aristocracy of the time. In these works, everything is marked by opulence, such as the refined clothing worn by the characters, reflecting the most elegant Venetian fashion of the era.

The first painting in the series, “The Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee” (1555-1556), is now housed in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin. This was followed by the famous “The Wedding at Cana” (1563), now in the Louvre’s Salle des États, and the last in the series, “The Feast in the House of Levi” (1573), displayed at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice.

Veronese’s Legacy

Veronese’s later paintings are characterized by darker atmospheres, with frequent nocturnal scenes and predominantly religious subjects. Despite the evolution in his style, drawing always remained central to his work, distinguishing him from his Venetian contemporaries.

Veronese’s unmistakable style had a strong influence on late Baroque masters like Sebastiano Ricci and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. The stylistic imprint of the Venetian “triad” composed of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese played a crucial role in Western art for centuries to come.

During the presentation of the new Menarini Art Volume dedicated to Veronese, the author Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa described the three masters of Venetian art as follows:

“Together with Titian and Tintoretto, Veronese represented the pinnacle of Venetian painting and its impact on Western art. They are the triad of the Golden Age. They are the ones who used light, color, and atmosphere to create modernity—the modernity in art that would influence everyone up to the Impressionists and would only be transformed by the avant-garde.”

Read the interview with Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa about the Art Volume dedicated to Veronese at this link!