Title: Veronese - Masterpieces in Colour Series
Author: Crastre, François
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.


*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Veronese - Masterpieces in Colour Series" ***


Internet Archive (http://archive.org)



      Images of the original pages are available through
      Internet Archive. See
      http://archive.org/details/ocadveronese00crasuoft



Masterpieces in Colour
Edited by--M. Henry Roujon

VERONESE

(1528-1588)

      *      *      *      *      *      *

_IN THE SAME SERIES_

  REYNOLDS                HOLBEIN
  VELASQUEZ               BURNE-JONES
  GREUZE                  LE BRUN
  TURNER                  CHARDIN
  BOTTICELLI              MILLET
  ROMNEY                  RAEBURN
  REMBRANDT               SARGENT
  BELLINI                 CONSTABLE
  FRA ANGELICO            MEMLING
  ROSSETTI                FRAGONARD
  RAPHAEL                 DÜRER
  LEIGHTON                LAWRENCE
  HOLMAN HUNT             HOGARTH
  TITIAN                  WATTEAU
  MILLAIS                 MURILLO
  LUINI                   WATTS
  FRANZ HALS              INGRES
  CARLO DOLCI             COROT
  GAINSBOROUGH            DELACROIX
  TINTORETTO              FRA LIPPO LIPPI
  VAN DYCK                PUVIS DE CHAVANNES
  DA VINCI                MEISSONIER
  WHISTLER                GEROME
  RUBENS                  VERONESE
  BOUCHER                 VAN EYCK
              MANTEGNA

_IN PREPARATION_

  FROMENTIN               PERUGINO

      *      *      *      *      *      *


[Illustration: PLATE I.--JUPITER DESTROYING THE VICES

(In the Musée du Louvre)

This large composition shows a method rarely employed by Veronese. The
great imaginative artist here tried his hand at the more vigorous
school of painting, and with complete success. It is especially
admired for certain remarkable effects of foreshortening. This
picture, painted for the Ducal Palace, served as a ceiling decoration
in Louis XIVth's chamber at Versailles, until it was finally
transferred to the Louvre.]


VERONESE

by

FRANÇOIS CRASTRE

Translated from the French by Frederic Taber Cooper

With Eight Facsimile Reproductions in Colour



[Illustration: IN SEMPITERNUM.]

Frederick A. Stokes Company
New York--Publishers

Copyright, 1912, by
Frederick A. Stokes Company

August, 1912

The·Plimpton·Press
[W·D·O]
Norwood·Mass·U·S·A



CONTENTS


                                        Page
  Introduction                            11

  The First Years                         16

  The Sojourn in Venice                   27

  The Wedding at Cana                     38

  Veronese and the Inquisition            47

  The Journey to Rome                     52

  The Return to Venice                    53

  The Decoration of the Ducal Palace      57

  The Last Years                          65



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


  Plate
     I. Jupiter Destroying the Vices                  Frontispiece
           In the Musée du Louvre

    II. The Disciples at Emmaus                                 14
           In the Musée du Louvre

   III. The Holy Family                                         24
           In the Musée du Louvre

    IV. The Wedding at Cana                                     34
           In the Musée du Louvre

     V. The Family of Darius                                    40
           In the National Gallery, London

    VI. Calvary                                                 50
           In the Musée du Louvre

   VII. The Marriage of St. Catherine                           60
           In the Accademia delle Belle Arti, Venice

  VIII. The Vision of St. Helena                                70
           In the National Gallery, London



[Illustration]

INTRODUCTION


It has been said of Veronese that he was the most absurd and the most
adorable of the great painters. Paradoxical as it sounds, this
judgment is perfectly true. Absurd, Veronese undoubtedly was, in his
disdain of logic and common sense, in his complete indifference to
historic truth and school traditions, and in his anachronistic habit
of garbing antiquity in modern raiment. "I paint my pictures," he
said, "without taking these matters into consideration, and I allow
myself the same license which is granted to poets and to fools." And
it is precisely his riotous fantasy, his naïve self-confidence, his
own peculiar way of understanding mythology and religion that have
made him the adorable artist whose glory has been consecrated by the
centuries.

Thanks to the rare power of his genius, the most audacious
improbabilities vanish beneath the magic adornments with which he
covers them, and it hardly occurs to one to notice his glaring
historical errors or the superficialities of his pictorial conceptions
in the continual delight inspired by the sense of concentrated life in
his characters, the splendour of his colouring, the caressing charm of
his draperies, the brilliance of his skies, and the impression of
youth and of joy that radiates from his work. Veronese was neither a
thinker nor an historian, nor a moralist; he was quite simply a
painter, but he was a very great one. If his preference is for the
joyous scenes of life, that is because life treated him indulgently
from his earliest years; if he delights in giving to his pictures
a sumptuous setting, in which silk, brocades and precious vases
abound, it is because he acquired a taste for these things in that
matchless Venice of the sixteenth century, marvellous treasury of
sun-bathed, gaily bedecked palaces, wherein all the opulence of the
East had been brought together. What these paintings of Veronese
reproduce for us are the thick, rich carpets of Smyrna, newly unladen
from Musselman _feluccas_, monkeys imported from tropic islands,
greyhounds brought from Asia, and negro pages purchased on the Riva
dei Schiavoni, the Quay of the Slaves, to bear the trains of the
patrician beauties of Venice. But, above all, one finds in them Venice
herself, Venice the Glorious, queen of the sea, Venice sated with gold
and lavish of it, sowing her lagunes broadcast with palaces, and the
robes of her women with diamonds. More truly than Titian or
Tintoretto, Veronese is the chosen painter of the Most Serene
Republic. He not only decorated the ceilings of her palaces and the
walls of her churches: but he took the city of his adoption as the
setting for all his compositions; it is at Venice that the _Feast at
the House of Simon the Pharisee_, the _Feast at the House of Levi_
take place; it is in Venetian surroundings that Jesus presides over
the _Wedding Feast at Cana_.

[Illustration: PLATE II.--THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS

(In the Musée du Louvre)

This biblical scene, as treated by Veronese, in no wise resembles the
same subject as treated by the Primitives or by Rembrandt. The
Venetian Master does not trouble himself about tradition; for him,
this Feast is simply an opportunity for a beautiful picture, brilliant
in colour, and embellished with rich accessories and architectural
drawing.]

One can understand how the painters of the Venetian school, nurtured
in the dazzling and joyous light of the sea-born city, transferred to
their palette that vibrant colour with which their artist eyes were
filled; nor is it surprising that Veronese, passionately enamoured of
Venice, achieved, through his wish to glorify her, that magnificence
of colour and of expression which remains his distinctive mark.



THE FIRST YEARS


Nevertheless, Veronese was not a native of Venice but of Verona, as is
indicated by the surname that was bestowed upon him during his life
and that has adhered to him ever since. His rightful name was Paolo
Caliari. He was born at Verona in 1528 and not in 1530, as is asserted
by several of his biographers, notably by Carlo Ridolfi. The correct
date is now verified by the discovery, in San Samuele of Venice,
Veronese's parish church, of the register of deaths wherein the
decease of the great painter is entered as having occurred the 19th of
April, 1588, the very day when he completed his sixtieth year.

Paolo Caliari belonged to a family of artists. His father, Gabriele
Caliari, was a sculptor and enjoyed some little reputation in his own
city. Veronese's uncle, Antonio Badile, was a painter, and in such
pictures as are known to be his we find evidence not only of a good
deal of ability, but of a certain facile grace that justifies the high
esteem in which his compatriots held him.

Veronese's father, being of a logical turn of mind, wished, since he
himself was a sculptor, to make a sculptor of his son. Veronese
learned to model statuettes in clay, and, aided by his precocious
intelligence, he acquired a real dexterity in this art, quite
remarkable in one so young.

But this was not his vocation. Frequent visits to the studio of his
uncle Badile had awakened in him an enthusiasm for painting. He
applied himself to learn to paint with so much zeal and imagination
that his father made no attempt to check his inclination, but
entrusted him to Badile. The latter was Veronese's real teacher,
though not the only one, for young "Paolino" also attended the studio
of another Veronese painter, Giovanni Carotto.

From the outset, Veronese applied himself energetically to perfecting
his skill in line drawing. The future genial painter of wondrous
fantasy yielded himself without a murmur to the rude but salutary
exigencies of technique. Strange caprice on the part of an artist who
was destined to show so much dexterity in execution and lavishness in
decoration, his tastes turned towards the most severe and least
imaginative of masters, Albert Durer and Lucas Van Leyden. It was
through copying the engravings of these illustrious masters that he
learned how to draw. Such lessons always bear their fruit. In this
laborious apprenticeship, Veronese acquired that steadiness of hand,
that firmness of line that was later to be noted even in his most
exuberant paintings, despite the enormous quantity of canvases that he
produced in the course of his life.

Even his earliest attempts reveal his abundant and facile genius; and
these first, and one might almost say immature, works already
foreshadow the great artist. The affectionate patronage of his uncle
Badile greatly facilitated his début. At an age when young folk have
not usually begun to form dreams of the future, young Caliari had
already forced himself upon the attention of Verona, and the Chapter
of the Church of San Bernardino commissioned him to paint a Madonna.

He acquitted himself well of this task. The work proved satisfactory,
other orders followed, and the name of the young artist swiftly spread
beyond the confines of his native city. A short time later, the
cardinal Ercole di Gonzaga decided to decorate the cathedral at
Mantua, recently rebuilt by Giulio Romano. He sent a summons to
Caliari, as well as to three other Veronese painters who enjoyed a big
reputation: Battista del Moro, Paolo Farinato degli Uberti, and
Brusasorci, who was regarded as the Titian of Verona. The cardinal
instituted a sort of rivalry between these four artists, and gave
them orders for four pictures, destined to be competitive. The
subject entrusted to Paolo Caliari was a representation of the
_Temptations of St. Anthony_. The young painter applied himself
resolutely to the task. Far from intimidating him, the redoubtable
competition of his three elders served only to excite his ardour and
stimulate his imagination. He painted the saintly anchorite defending
himself against the blows which the Devil is dealing him with a stick
and repulsing the advances of a woman who has been raised up from hell
itself to tempt him. The cardinal, delighted with this picture, gave
preference to Veronese over his three competitors.

Veronese lost no time in returning to Verona, but, however flattering
the esteem with which his compatriots surrounded him might be, he was
not long in finding that the limited scope afforded by his native city
was too narrow for his activity. He had a boyhood friend, Battista
Zelotti, a painter like himself, and also like himself tormented by
dreams of glory. Together they quitted Verona and betook themselves to
Tiene, in the duchy of Vicenza. Here they had the good luck to meet a
man of discrimination, in the person of the paymaster-general
Portesco, who entrusted them with the decoration of his palace. The
two friends apportioned the work between them; while Zelotti, who had
studied at Venice under Titian, undertook the fresco painting,
Veronese decorated the intervening panels in _grisaille_, or gray
monochrome. The result of this friendly collaboration was a complete
series of paintings, of great diversity: hunting scenes, banquets,
dances and numerous subjects borrowed from mythology or from history,
the _Loves of Venus and Vulcan_, the _Heroism of Mucius Scaevola_, the
_Festival of Cleopatra_, and a remarkable _Sophonisba_. This work in
common was not without profit to Veronese. Zelotti's manner closely
resembled his own; they both show the same qualities of colouring and
composition, and the same broad and facile touch.

They collaborated once again on fresco work in the home of a certain
Eni, in the village of Fanzolo, in the neighbourhood of Trevise. After
this they separated, Zelotti going to Vicenza, whither he had been
summoned, while Caliari betook himself to Venice, the Promised Land
towards which he was impelled by his ardent desire for glory.

When he arrived in the Most Serene Republic, Caliari was not yet
twenty-five years old. We have no reliable document regarding these
first years of his residence there, nor even of the impressions
produced upon him by the opulent and magnificent city. But these
impressions are easy to conceive. To anyone so sensitive as he to
externals, Venice must have seemed enchanted ground. How could he have
failed to be dazzled, in acquainting himself with that gorgeous city,
enthroned upon the Adriatic, like a pearl in a casket of velvet? With
what joyous eagerness his colour-enraptured eye must have rested upon
those white marble palaces, moulded and filagreed in arabesque, those
churches paved with precious mosaics, those quays swarming ceaselessly
with a picturesque and motley crowd of Armenians, Greeks and Moors,
spreading the sun-bathed pavements with a glittering display of
spangled ornaments, turquoise-inlaid cutlery, and multicoloured
fabrics.

[Illustration: PLATE III.--THE HOLY FAMILY

(In the Musée du Louvre)

In this work, one of the most beautiful in the Salon Carré, Veronese
has grouped his figures in a charming manner. Following his customary
formula, he has clothed them in the Venetian style, but the faces of
the Virgin and the Child are remarkable for their tenderness. It is a
matter of regret that time has faded the colours of this magnificent
painting.]

If the models that passed in endless procession before his eyes
impressed him as magnificent opportunities, the sight of what other
painters had already wrought from this material aroused his artist
soul to keen enthusiasm. The whole constellation of the great
Venetians had converted the city of the Doges into an incomparable
museum: Giorgione, with his melancholy compositions, full of vague
dreams; Carpaccio, with his naïve and picturesque reproductions of
Venetian life. Among the living, Sansovino, simultaneously architect
and artist, who built marvellous palaces and adorned them with
graceful frescoes; Tintoretto, sombre genius whose creative power
largely redeemed the somewhat obscure tints of his palette; and above
them all, Titian, the great Titian, who at that time was already
eighty years of age, yet still manipulated his brush with the firm
hand of youth.

All these masters Veronese admired indiscriminately, as was fitting in
a young painter who had never known other models than those of his own
small city. He ran the danger of acquiring mannerisms and becoming an
imitator. By a special grace accorded to genius alone, Veronese
succeeded in remaining himself and borrowing nothing either from his
predecessors or his contemporaries. From his contemplation of the
works of the others he gained only a nobler passion for his art; and
he altered nothing in the personal vision which he already formed of
men and of things.

Vigorous, blessed with good health, jovial by nature, and much
enamoured of the bright and sparkling side of life, Veronese fashioned
his paintings in the image of his own temperament. His work was always
an exaltation of the joy of living, an apology for those agreeable
externals that render existence pleasant and easy; fine dwellings,
flowers, copious repasts, women luxuriously apparelled, precious
fabrics, horses and dogs of fine breed. If he wished to paint a _Last
Supper_, it mattered little to him that legend and history agree
regarding the simplicity and the humble station of Jesus and his
disciples: History and tradition did not count with him. A repast,
whatever it would be, he could not conceive of, unless around a
sumptuous table, covered with costly vessels, served by attendants in
picturesque costumes and enlivened by the antics of buffoons or the
harmonies of music. It was thus that he painted Christ, it was after
this original conception that he worked out his immortal compositions.
Accordingly no one could justly appraise Veronese, without first
setting aside, as he did, all those historic data which he voluntarily
ignored.



THE SOJOURN IN VENICE


There are few painters of whose private life so little is known as of
that of Veronese. The contemporary documents have disappeared and
scarcely anything more remains than a few of his letters; and even
those are silent as to his day-by-day existence. All that it is
possible to know--and to this his paintings abundantly bear
witness--is that he was possessed of an agreeable humour, and a
pleasing personality;--worthy gentleman, somewhat quick of temper and
permitting no slight to be put upon his dignity, still less upon his
honour. He was neither a sycophant nor a courtier, accepting
commissions but never soliciting them. His "disinterestedness,"
writes Charles Yriarte, "has remained celebrated; during one entire
period of his life, the greater part of the contracts which he signed
with communities and with convents stipulate barely the value of his
time as a remuneration for his work. This was before the time when
painters were expected to furnish their colours and their canvases,
but demanded only the price of their toil. Later on, having become, if
not rich--that he never was,--at least celebrated and independent, he
acquired a taste for personal luxury; he delighted in brilliant
fabrics and wore them with ostentation; he loved horses, dogs, and
hunting; he frequented high society, and brought to it that Italian
open-heartedness which makes the company of the illustrious a
relaxation and a pleasure rather than an embarrassment or an effort.
He won valuable friendships and was able to retain them until his
death."

Of these friendships, the most efficacious was that of the Prior of
the convent of San Sebastiano, Bernardo Torlioni, a Veronese by birth,
to whom he had brought letters of introduction. No sooner had young
Caliari arrived in Venice at the beginning of 1555, than he presented
himself to his venerable compatriot, who promptly took a fancy to him,
and bestirred himself to serve him. Thanks to Torlioni, Paolo obtained
an order for five pictures, including one large composition, the
_Coronation of the Virgin_ and four dependent panels. These paintings
were destined to adorn the sacristy of the church of San Sebastiano,
of which Bernardo Torlioni was prior. When the work was done, the
Chapter expressed itself as so well pleased that it entrusted him with
the decoration of the church itself, including the ceiling. It was
here that Veronese painted his admirable series of episodes from the
_History of Esther and Ahasuerus_.

The success of this series was so great that the edifice was placed
unconditionally in his hands, and he was free to follow his fantasy
unhampered. Following a method which was habitual with him, he
enhanced the effect of the large panels painted in fresco, by means of
smaller intervening scenes in chiaroscuro. Here also one finds him
indulging his hobby for architectural painting, such as always
occupies a large place in his pictures; all around the church he
painted truncated columns, ornamented with arabesques and foliage,
"with a richness and a pomp that were already an inseparable feature
of his style."

In the works of Veronese, the accessories always play a highly
important part; and it is not difficult to understand the reason. His
main object being to delight the eye, he attributed considerable space
to vases, furniture, armour, fruits, flowers, graceful draperies,
brilliant costumes, mettlesome horses, and more especially dogs, with
which it was his special whim to embellish his paintings. The dog was
his favourite animal, and even at that epoch its presence was to be
noted in every picture.

When the church, completely decorated, was opened to the public, there
was general rejoicing; Veronese received the unanimous vote of
approval, from the populace as well as from the artists.

From that day forth, the ability of the young painter was openly
acknowledged, and his fortune assured. Furthermore, he had arrived in
Venice at a propitious hour. It was the moment when the Most Serene
Republic, victorious over the seas and surfeited with wealth, attained
the zenith of her glory. In her opulence Venice chose to employ her
treasures in self-adornment; palaces arose on all sides, the Ducal
Palace itself was redecorated; Sansovino was just completing the new
Government offices. The wealthy brotherhoods and equally wealthy
parishes were seeking out every painter of repute to decorate their
churches and their convents.

Accordingly, Veronese had arrived at the crucial moment to satisfy the
demands of art. His rivals were negligible: Salviati, Battista Franco,
Lo Schiavone, Zelotti, Orazio Vocelli the son of Titian, could none of
them hold their own against him. Bordone was at the court of Francis
I. Tintoretto alone, at the height of his powers, could counterbalance
Veronese's glory. As to the aged Titian, he was no longer producing
pictures with his old-time fertility; furthermore, he had already
divined the genius of Veronese and conceived a friendship for him.

And so, throughout thirty-three years, from 1555 to 1588, the
masterpieces that were born beneath Veronese's fingers succeeded one
another without interruption. The walls of his adopted city became
overspread with his luminous canvases, eloquent of the joyousness of
Italy, resplendent with the triumphant beauty of Venice.

Shortly after the decoration of San Sebastiano was completed, Daniele
Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquileia and wealthy patrician of Venice, had a
splendid residence built him at Masiera by Palladio, a celebrated
architect of the period. Being a man of artistic taste, he wished to
embellish it with paintings and statues worthy of its imposing
architecture. For the sculpture he summoned Alessandro Vittoria; the
paintings were entrusted to Paolo Veronese.

The patriarch Barbaro was one of his friends, and accordingly allowed
him a free hand, and even left the choice of subjects to him.

[Illustration: PLATE IV.--THE WEDDING AT CANA

(In the Musée du Louvre)

This immense composition is the most celebrated work by Veronese. It
is considered as one of the masterpieces of all painting. The greater
number of the guests at this feast are portraits of illustrious
characters of the sixteenth century, and the artist has included
himself, along with Tintoretto and Titian, in the group of musicians
in the foreground.]

Veronese, who was a prodigiously fertile artist, left not a single
space in Barbaro's house unoccupied with colour. Wherever space would
not permit of large compositions, he painted trophies, garlands,
flowers, even statues, possessing all the lustre and relief of
marble. Elsewhere he sketched in architectural fantasies, simulating
colonnades and porticoes, opening upon landscapes borrowed from the
realm of dreams; he conceived imaginary doors, before which fictitious
lacqueys appeared to be standing. The principal subjects treated by
Veronese at Masiera include _Nobility_, _Honour_, _Magnificence_,
_Vice_, _Virtue_, _Flora_, _Pomona_, _Ceres_ and _Bacchus_; then in
the ceiling of the cupola he gathered together all the gods of
Olympus, grouped around Jupiter.

The decorations in the palace at Masiera further augmented Veronese's
fame. He was now acknowledged to be the foremost painter of Venice,
next to Titian. Barbaro had been so delighted with his talents that he
determined to do him a service. Standing well at court, he recommended
him to the Signoria. As a result of this, the latter entrusted him
with the task of redecorating the halls and chambers of the Doge's
Palace, in conjunction with Tintoretto and Orazio Titian. Which of the
three artists proved superior it is impossible to decide to-day,
because a fire, occurring in 1576, destroyed their paintings along
with the palace. But public opinion of that period gave the palm to
Veronese.

It seems as though this verdict must have been justified, in view of
the esteem in which his name was held.

Shortly afterwards, Sansovino having completed the construction of the
library, the procurators instructed the architect to arrange with
Titian as to a choice of painters to decorate it in competition.
Veronese was immediately designated, together with Zelotti, Batista
Franco, Giuseppe Salviati, Lo Schiavene and Il Fratina, who were to
divide the twenty-one ceiling panels between them. Three round
compartments fell to the lot of Veronese, who filled them with figures
representing _Music_, _Geometry with Arithmetic_, and _Honour_. Under
Veronese's brush these cold abstractions took on the most charming
forms; they were represented by graceful women, each surrounded by the
attributes of the science which she symbolized. A recompense was
promised by the procurators to the artist whose paintings should be
adjudged most beautiful. Titian was enthusiastic over those of
Veronese. Loyal and noble artist that he was, he himself solicited the
votes of the painters who had taken part in the competition, and thus
Veronese was declared winner by the voice of his own competitors. The
senate offered him a golden chain which he delighted to wear on solemn
occasions.

These great official works did not diminish the number of his
productions for churches, convents, or private persons of wealth. No
other artist affords an example of similar fecundity.

And what verges upon prodigy is that he never employed collaborators,
as so many other celebrated painters have done; the only one that he
is known to have had is his brother Benedetto Caliari, whose artistic
aid was limited to painting in the prospective of the vast
architectural designs with which it pleased Veronese to embellish all
his canvases.

The epoch of his most fertile production was between 1562 and 1565; it
was also the period in which he executed his largest and most
celebrated paintings, notably his famous canvas of the _Wedding at
Cana_, his _Feast at the House of the Pharisee_, his _Feast at the
House of the Leper_, and his _Feast at the House of Simon_.

These four pictures are known under the name of the four _Feasts_. Two
of them belong to France and hang in the museum of the Louvre, in the
room known by the name of the _Salon Carré_; these are the _Feast at
the House of Simon the Pharisee_ and the _Wedding at Cana_.



THE WEDDING AT CANA


Veronese has treated this subject twice. Accordingly the picture in
the Louvre must not be confounded with that of the same name in the
Brera museum at Milan. In spite of the value of the latter, it bears
no comparison to the gigantic canvas in the national museum of France.

[Illustration: PLATE V.--THE FAMILY OF DARIUS

(In the National Gallery, London)

This picturesque painting is one of the most curious of all Veronese's
works. It was painted in return for the hospitality which he received
from the Pisani family, and all the figures in it are portraits of
members of the household. Another point worthy of note is the
anachronism of the warriors clad in Roman armour standing before the
kneeling women, who are dressed in the manner of the sixteenth
century.]

This picture of the _Wedding at Cana_ was painted by Veronese for the
refectory of the convent of San Giorgio Maggiore, on the island that
faces the _Riva dei Schiavoni_. It remained there until the time of
Napoleon's Italian Campaign. Bonaparte, who loved the arts without
understanding them, laid profane hands on the great majority of
Italian masterpieces. This painting by Veronese was one of the number,
and found a place in the Louvre. The treaty of 1815 obliged France to
restore these treasures, but the Austrian commissioners, appointed to
accomplish the restitution, became alarmed at the difficulties of
transportation which the _Wedding at Cana_ presented. They accordingly
consented to exchange this canvas for a painting by Le Brun, _The
Feast at the House of the Pharisee_. Veronese's masterpiece remained
in the Louvre, in which it is one of the most flawless gems.

The contract drawn up between Veronese and the Prior of San Giorgio
Maggiore for the execution of this picture has been preserved. The
painter bound himself to deliver it within a year, since the contract
was signed June 6, 1562 and the delivery of the canvas took place of
September 8, 1563. He was to be furnished with canvas and colours, to
be entitled to take his meals at the convent and receive a cask of
wine as additional recompense. As to remuneration for his work, it was
fixed by mutual agreement at 324 ducats, which, in the 16th century,
corresponded to 972 francs in the coin of France. Taking into
consideration the enhanced value of money since that epoch, these 972
francs would represent to-day 7,000 francs. Such is the price which
the greatest artist of his time received for a masterpiece which
to-day commands the admiration of the entire world.

Never did Veronese display so much brilliance, dispense so much
imagination as in the _Wedding at Cana_; never did he show a greater
dexterity in execution; for, however considerable the dimensions of
the canvas may be, it demanded nothing less than genius to distribute
without clash or disproportion the hundred and thirty-two personages
which compose it. A painter less thoroughly sure of himself would have
made a sorry mess of this Feast; Veronese has produced a composition
that is admirable for its balance, in abounding charming details, and
unexpected and picturesque episodes, that do not in the least detract
from the effect of the painting as a whole.

On this picture, as on so many others from the brush of Veronese, one
cannot, as has already been said, pass an equitable judgment, unless
one accepts, without question, the master's method. Veronese had no
more respect for religious tradition than he had for mythological
legend. To take issue with the incongruities and anachronisms of the
_Wedding at Cana_, is voluntarily to debar oneself from discussing it.
If historic exactitude is the one thing that counts in a painting,
then this picture simply does not exist. But happily painting has no
need to justify itself to history; it is amply sufficient to itself,
without borrowing anything from history, and loses nothing of its
beauty if perchance it does violence to history. And of this the
_Wedding at Cana_ furnishes a most eloquent proof.

The composition of this famous picture is well known. Jesus is seated
in the middle focus, at the centre of the table, which is curved on
each side in the form of a horse-shoe. To fill this immense table,
Veronese did not go to the scriptures in search of personages; he drew
them from his surroundings and from his own imagination.

The groom, a handsome, black bearded young man, clad in purple and
gold, is no other than Alphonso d'Avalos, Marquis del Vasto, and the
bride is a portrait of Eleanora of Austria, sister of Charles V., and
Queen of France. On the left, one discovers, with some surprise,
Francis I., Charles V., the Sultan Achmed II., and Queen Mary of
England. Beside the Sultan is a woman richly robed and holding a
tooth-pick; she is Vittoria Colonna, Marchesa di Pescara; then,
further on are monks, cardinals, and personal friends of the artist.
Standing up, clad in brocade and holding a cup in his hand, is
Veronese's brother, Benedetto Caliari. In the centre are a group of
musicians. The octogenarian bending over his viol, is a portrait of
Titian; Bassano is playing the flute; Tintoretto and Veronese himself
draw their bow across the strings of a 'cello.

The success of the _Wedding at Cana_ was triumphal. The great painters
of Venice, contemporaries of Veronese, overwhelmed him with proofs of
their admiration; even morose Tintoretto found some extremely amiable
words in which to praise his rival in fame, and Titian embraced the
happy painter when he chanced to meet him in the city streets.

These praises were merited; the _Wedding at Cana_ is quite truly one
of the most beautiful masterpieces in the world's collection of
paintings.

The renown obtained by this admirable work brought Veronese a host of
orders. The various cities vied with each other to secure him to
decorate their churches or their convents. His first patron, the Prior
Torlioni, ordered a picture from him for the convent of San
Sebastiano, the church of which he had already decorated. Veronese, by
no means ungrateful, painted for him the _Feast at the House of the
Leper_, in 1570; three years later he painted for the dominican
monastery of San Giovanni e Paolo the _Feast at the House of Levi_, to
decorate one side of the refectory. The monks had only a modest sum at
their disposal and tremblingly offered it to the now celebrated
painter; they naïvely added the donation of a few casks of wine.
Veronese exhibited the most complete disinterestedness by accepting
these humble offers of the Prior. This was his third _Feast_.

The fourth, known under the name of the _Feast at the House of Simon
the Pharisee_, was executed for the refectory of the Brotherhood of
Servites. It represents Magdalen on her knees, wiping the feet of
Christ with her hair. This painting now hangs in the Louvre, opposite
the _Wedding at Cana_. It has been the property of France for two
centuries, and the history of its acquisition by Louis XIV is curious
enough to be worth the telling. Colbert, having learned that Spain had
negotiated for the purchase of the _Feast at the House of Simon_,
resolved to go to any lengths in order to acquire it himself, on
behalf of Louis XIV. The French ambassador to Venice, Pierre de Bonzi,
was charged with the negotiations. To address himself directly to the
Servites was impossible, since there was a law in the Venetian
Republic forbidding the sale and exportation of any native works of
art. Bonzi pursued the course of informing the Signoria of his royal
master's wish. The Signoria, desirous of securing the good will of the
great king, without violating her own laws, purchased with public
funds the picture from the Servites, and straightway offered it to
Louis XIV, who returned warm thanks to his "very dear and great
friends, allies and confederates, after having seen this rare and most
perfect original."



VERONESE AND THE INQUISITION


These four _Feasts_ of Veronese won him a widespread renown. But there
were certain hostile spirits, uncompromising traditionalists, to whom
the fantastic elements which he introduced into the composition of his
religious pictures were necessarily strongly displeasing. To introduce
dwarfs, buffoons, men at arms under the influence of liquor, at a
feast where Jesus and his disciples take part,--did not this savour of
irreverence, nay, worse than that, of heresy?

The _Feast at the House of Levi the Publican_, executed for the
convent of San Giovanni e Paolo, in which Veronese had given free rein
to his imagination, was denounced to the Holy Office, and on July 18,
1573, the artist was summoned before the tribunal of the Inquisition.

In the Most Serene Republic this tribunal scarcely had the same
redoubtable power with which the sombre fanaticism of Philip II had
armed it in Spain. It was none the less a grave risk to incur its
displeasure at an epoch when the Papacy still held undisputed sway
over the guidance of souls. Consequently this prosecution caused
Veronese serious alarm.

M. Armand Baschet discovered quite recently in the archives of the
Frari, at Venice, the official record of the trial with all the
questions put to him and his answers.

The judges took special exception to his _Feast at the House of Levi_,
which seemed to them an outrage upon religion. Each one of the figures
in the picture was brought up separately for discussion, and the
luckless Veronese was required to make explanation. What was the
significance of that man who was bleeding at the nose? Why were those
two soldiers, on the steps of the stairway, one of them drinking and
the other eating, clad in German uniform? And, at a repast where the
Saviour figures, what was that ridiculous buffoon doing with a
parroquet on his wrist?

[Illustration: PLATE VI.--CALVARY

(In the Musée du Louvre)

In painting this subject, which so many artists have treated in a
lugubrious tone, Veronese, while preserving the intense sadness of the
scene on Calvary, has none the less succeeded in lavishing upon it his
habitual qualities as a colourist. All the actors in the divine drama
wear gloomy countenances and resplendent robes.]

Veronese defended himself as best he could. He assumed a sort of
injured innocence and apparently failed to understand the enormity of
the irreverence with which he was charged. Next, he took shelter
behind the precedent established by the great masters. He cited
Michelangelo and his _Last Judgment_:

"At Rome, in the Pope's own chapel, Michelangelo has represented Our
Lord, his Mother, Saint John, Saint Peter and the Celestial Choir, and
he has represented them all naked, even the Virgin Mary, and that,
too, in diverse attitudes, such as were certainly not inspired by our
greatest of religions."

Finally, Veronese emphatically denied the charge of any intentional
irreverence toward the Church; he declared that he had simply
permitted himself, perhaps wrongfully, a certain amount of license
such as is accorded to poets and to fools.

His contrite attitude won him the indulgence of the Tribunal. But the
judges demanded that he should correct his picture, and he was obliged
to remove the dwarfs and the fools and to modify the attitude of his
men at arms. This is the picture that may be seen to-day at the
Accademia delle Belle Arti, at Venice, retouched in accordance with
the orders of the Holy Office.



THE JOURNEY TO ROME


In spite of his keen desire to pay a visit to Rome, Veronese was kept
in Venice by his ceaseless productivity, and he attained the age of
forty without ever having had the chance of a sight of the Eternal
City. Of all the masterpieces in that home of the Pontiffs, he knew
nothing, excepting of such as he had seen copied in the form of
engravings. The appointment of his friend and patron as ambassador to
the Holy See, afforded him an opportunity to make the journey so many
times projected and deferred.

No documents exist regarding Veronese's sojourn in Rome, but at all
events it was fairly brief. Beyond this, we are reduced to mere
conjecture. Furthermore, there is no extant evidence to sustain
the idea that he practised his art in the Eternal City. If he had
painted any pictures there, some trace of them would surely have
been discovered. It must therefore be concluded that he contented
himself with admiring the masterpieces with which his illustrious
predecessors, Raphael and Michelangelo, had enriched the capital of
the Pontiffs.

But his temperament was too peculiar, his manner too individual, and
we may as well acknowledge, his nature too superficial, to permit of
his experiencing those profound and overwhelming impressions that
radically modify an artistic career.

And for this we ought rather to be thankful than to complain, since it
was only his obstinate insistence upon remaining himself that saved
Veronese from shipwreck upon the ever threatening reef of imitation.



THE RETURN TO VENICE


From the moment of his return to Venice, Veronese was besieged from
all sides; once again he found himself enslaved to forced labor by the
incessant contracts demanded of him by his fellow citizens. The
scantiness of documents which we possess regarding his life does not
permit us to name the chronological order in which he painted his
pictures. We shall therefore gather them into groups for the sake of
convenience in studying his more important works. Furthermore, to
study one by one, all of his paintings, is not to be thought of; for
this painter was one of the most prolific producers of which the
history of art makes mention. In every one of his pictures will be
found, more or less accentuated, those qualities of composition, of
picturesqueness, and of colour which together constitute his glory.
Accordingly we shall limit ourselves to indicating, at the different
stages of his career, those pictures which show most deeply the
imprint of his genius and which also are most closely related to the
life of Venice of which he was, in a certain way, together with
Tintoretto, the official painter. For the rest the reader may be
referred to the complete catalogue of the works of Veronese given at
the close of this book.

Concerning the private life of the artist we are as poorly informed as
concerning the date of his pictures. We know only that he married and
that he had two sons, Gabriele and Carletto. When they were old enough
to hold a brush he entrusted them to Bassano, a Venetian painter whose
talent he held in high esteem. As regards himself, the documents of
the period vaunt his uprightness, his honesty and his keen sense of
honour. Ridolfi, one of his biographers, who wrote sixty years after
Veronese's death, and relied upon the recollections of people who knew
him personally, pictured him as a man of strict principles and settled
habits, and economical almost to the point of avarice. He cites, as an
example of this, that the artist rarely employed ultramarine, which
was very costly at that time, and thus condemned his works to
premature deterioration.

His fortune, the extent of which we learn from the fiscal records of
Venice, consisted in a few holdings of real estate at Castelfranco in
Trevisano. In 1585 he purchased a small estate at Santa Maria in
Porto, not far from the Pineta of Ravenna. He also possessed a bank
account representing approximately six thousand sequins. But what was
that for a man who was the most famous and the most fertile artist of
his time?

We have already given examples of his disinterestedness. Many a time
he refused opportunities of great wealth. He even declined the offers
made him by Philip II, who tried to lure him to Spain and would have
entrusted him with decorating the Escurial.

It was about the period of his return to Venice that Veronese
completed his celebrated picture: _The Family of Darius at the Feet of
Alexander after the Battle of Issus_, now in the National Gallery at
London. The episode is well known; Darius III., King of Persia,
conquered at Issus by Alexander, sends his wife and children to beg
for clemency from the victor. Admitted to the conqueror's tent, the
unfortunate wife perceives a warrior in resplendent garments whom she
takes for Alexander, and throws herself at his feet. The warrior,
however, is only Ephestion, Alexander's lieutenant and friend. The
wife of Darius apologizes for her mistake, but Alexander raises her up
and says: "You made no mistake, he also is Alexander."

Such is the historic theme. But what matters history to Veronese? Upon
this classic subject he has built the most fantastic, the most
improbable, and at the same time the most fascinating of his
compositions. The picture was painted for the Pisani family which had
given him hospitality, and every one of the figures contained in it
represents a member of that household.

It is related that, in order to spare his hosts the necessity of
thanking him or the obligation of making some return, he rolled up his
canvas and slipped it behind his bed in such a way that it would not
be discovered in his room until after his departure.

It is scarcely probable that Veronese could have painted so large a
canvas--fourteen metres by seven--in the necessarily brief space of a
friendly visit, or that he could have painted in his figures, which
are all of them portraits, without the knowledge of the Pisani family.
But the anecdote is so pretty that it is pleasant to accept it as
true.

It was a direct descendant of the Venetian Procurator, Count Victor
Pisani, who sold the painting to England in 1857.



THE DECORATION OF THE DUCAL PALACE


In 1577 a violent conflagration destroyed the greater part of the
Ducal Palace. In this disaster all the pictures perished with which
Tintoretto, Horatio the son of Titian, and Veronese, had decorated it.

Desiring to restore the palace promptly and give it a new splendour,
the Senate appointed a committee, authorized to distribute orders
among the painters and decorators of Venice. The competitors were
numerous and eager to secure a chance to collaborate in so glorious an
enterprise; and to this end they paid eager court to the committee.
Veronese alone made no advances, being unwilling to appear solicitous.
This dignified course was looked upon as excess of pride, and one day
when Jacopo Contanari met him in the street he reproached him with it.
Veronese replied that it was not his business to seek for honours but
to be deserving of them, and that he had less skill in soliciting work
than in executing it.

[Illustration: PLATE VII.--THE MARRIAGE OF ST. CATHERINE

(In the Accademia delle Belle Arti, Venice)

There is, perhaps, no other religious subject which has so often
stimulated the inspiration of the great Italian painters. Veronese
himself has treated the same scene several times. The painting here
reproduced is considered, in view of the picturesqueness of its
composition, the beauty of the faces, and the brilliance of the
colouring, to be one of the best works of the illustrious artist.]

But they could not exclude Veronese, whose fame had now become
universal. Accordingly he was chosen with Tintoretto, and to them were
added Francisco Bassano and the younger Palma. The Ducal Palace is
therefore a sort of museum of the works of these masters, and forms
the most brilliant collection of paintings relating to the public
life and the glorification of Venice.

Veronese was entrusted with the decoration of the great central oval
of the ceiling, and the lateral panels. In these he painted the
_Defence of Scutari_, the _Taking of Smyrna_, and the _Triumph of
Venice_. This last named painting is considered by many as Veronese's
crowning achievement.

Venice is here represented in the form of a superb and smiling woman,
seated upon the clouds, her eyes raised towards Glory, who offers her
a crown. At her side, Renown celebrates her grandeur; at her feet are
grouped Honour, Liberty, Peace, Juno, and Ceres; lower down an
ethereal structure of admirable daring and architectural beauty
sustains a great assemblage of gentlemen and ladies richly clad, of
cardinals and bishops, all emulously uniting in the glorification of
Venice. On the ground level standards, trophies, and cavaliers add the
finishing touch to the composition, and are treated with incomparable
vigour and skill both in chiaroscuro and in perspective.

Although of more modest dimensions, the _Taking of Smyrna_ and the
_Defence of Scutari_ are in no wise inferior to the great central
composition. In this same Hall of the Grand Council, Veronese painted
two other great canvases, representing the Military Expedition of the
Doges, Loredan and Mocenigo.

But for that matter there is not a room in the Palace of the Doges in
which Veronese is not represented by one or more canvases; in the Hall
of the Anticollegio, there is a ceiling painting representing _Venice
Enthroned_, a work that has unfortunately deteriorated; in the Hall of
the Collegio, a _Battle of Lepanto_, a _Christ in Glory_, _Venice and
the Doge Venier_, a _Faith_, a _St. Mark_, and a ceiling which is
considered as the most beautiful in the whole Palace of the Doges:
_Venice Upon the Terrestrial Globe, Between Justice and Peace_. The
Hall of the Council of Ten contains, in the oval ceiling panel: _An
Old Man resting his Head on his Hand_ and _A Young Woman_. In the Hall
of the "Bussola," _St. Mark crowning the Theological Virtues_, the
original of which is at the present time in the Louvre. Mention should
also be made of: The _Triumph of the Doge Venier over the Turks_; the
_Return of Contanari_, _Victor over the Genoese at Chioggia_; the
_Emperor Frederick at the feet of Alexander III._, and, in the Hall of
the Ambassadors, a magnificent allegory of Venice, personified as a
patrician lady seen from behind, robed in white satin and of
marvellous grace.

Veronese also had a share in the decoration of another of Venice's
monumental buildings, situated near the bridge of the Rialto and known
by the name of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. This building, which is
to-day occupied by the Post Office, formerly served as warehouse for
German business men having commercial relations with the Republic.
These rich merchants had had the palace adorned by the greatest
painters in Venice. Giorgione and Titian had decorated its walls not
only within, but also on the exterior, where traces of the paintings
can still be seen. Veronese was entrusted with four compositions, one
of which is an allegory representing _Germany receiving the Imperial
Crown_. It is believed that the canvas now in the Museum at Berlin,
entitled _Jupiter, Fortune and Germany_, once formed part of the
decoration of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. It was purchased at Verona in
1841. Veronese's celebrity, about the year 1580, had become
world-wide. Every sovereign who prided himself on his art gallery
wished to possess some of his work. The indefatigable artist
endeavoured to satisfy them all; he even corresponded personally with
several of them. For the Duke of Savoy, he painted _The Queen of Sheba
Visiting Solomon_; to the Duke of Mantua, who had honoured him with
his friendship, he sent a _Moses Saved from the Waters_; to the
Emperor Rudolph II. he gave a _Cephale and Procris_ and a _Poem of
Venus_. These last two canvases, of which the German Emperor was very
proud, were taken from him by Gustavus Adolphus, when that triumphant
conqueror passed through Vienna.

Throughout his life, Veronese remained faithful to the pompous,
brilliant, ornamental school of painting. Not that he was incapable of
essaying other types, but because it was his own preference to paint
ease and luxury on a broad scale. He sometimes had occasion to handle
more vigorous subjects, and in this he was completely successful, as
the magnificent painting entitled _Jupiter Destroying the Vices_
abundantly bears witness.

The surprise experienced in the presence of this noble work, executed
with the energy of a master-hand, is surpassed only by admiration for
the versatility of a genius which could at will adapt itself to
unfamiliar formulas. This famous painting, proud and virile in style,
was taken from Italy by the victorious Armies of France, and placed in
Versailles in the chamber of Louis XIV., where for a long period it
served as the ceiling decoration. It was finally removed and now hangs
in the Louvre, in company of other masterpieces by the same artist.



THE LAST YEARS


The execution of his large official canvases did not prevent Veronese
from responding to all the appeals which came to him from every side.
His unequalled activity, his prodigious facility made it possible for
him to satisfy these demands. No one knows all the pictures which he
painted for private individuals, nor all the frescoes with which he
adorned certain dwellings that have since disappeared. Nevertheless
what a formidable list the works of this painter would make if the
attempt were made to draw up such a list without omissions! Ridolfi
devotes not less than thirty pages to a simple enumeration of the
pictures which Veronese painted for the neighbouring islands of
Venice, such as Murano and Torcello, for the country house of the
Grimani at Orlago, for that of the Duke of Tuscany at Artemino, or for
the Palace of the Pisani. To Verona, to Brescia, to Vicenza, to
Treviso, to Padua; to Venice also, to the Frari, to Ognissanti, to the
Umilta, to San Francisco del Orto, to Santa Catarina, for which he
painted his famous _Marriage of St. Catherine_, everywhere, in short,
where they required him, he sent marvellous canvases, magic with
colour and with life;--canvases for which to-day museums vie with each
other for their weight in gold.

But Veronese was no longer young; he had entered well into the
fifties; yet nothing in his craftsmanship betrayed fatigue or waning
powers. A genius almost unique, he went steadily forward and no one
could say of him, in the presence of his latest productions, what has
so often been said of other illustrious painters: "That is a work of
his old age!" Veronese had the rare privilege of remaining young to
the end.

One day, while following a procession on foot, Veronese contracted a
cold, and after a brief illness he died. His obsequies took place in
the parish church of San Samuele, April 19, 1588. On that day he would
have completed his sixtieth year.

When we remember that, up to the eve of his death, Veronese continued
to paint with as steady a hand as at the age of twenty, his death
seems premature, and it is only natural to deplore that this matchless
artist should have failed to obtain the ripe age of Titian. What
masterpieces he might still have painted!

Such as they are, brilliant and luxuriant, his works remain the most
abundant that have ever come from the palette of any one painter, and
Veronese stands lastingly, in the history of Art, as the most amazing
of all masters, both in colour and in composition.

[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--THE VISION OF ST. HELENA

(In the National Gallery, London)

This picture has often been attributed to Zelotti, who was a friend
and at one time a collaborator of Veronese. But the composition, the
colouring, the finish of detail, and the sumptuousness of decoration
betray the hand of the immortal author of the _Wedding at Cana_.]



THE WORKS OF PAOLO VERONESE



THE WORKS OF PAOLO VERONESE


FRANCE

  PARIS (MUSEUM OF THE LOUVRE): The Wedding at Cana.--The Feast at
    the House of Simon the Pharisee.--Jupiter destroying the
    Vices.--Portrait of a Young Woman.--Susannah and the Elders.--The
    Disciples at Emmaüs.--The Fainting of Esther.--The Burning of
    Sodom.--Two Holy Families.--Calvary.--Jesus Stumbling Beneath the
    Weight of the Cross.--St. Mark Crowning the Theological
    Virtues.--Jesus Curing Peter's Mother-in-law.

  MONTPELLIER (MUSEUM): The Virgin in the Clouds.--The Marriage of
    St. Catherine.--St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata.

  RENNES (MUSEUM): Perseus Delivering Andromeda.

  LILLE (MUSEUM): Science and Eloquence.--The Martyrdom of St.
    George.

  ROUEN (MUSEUM): St. Barnabas Curing the Sick.


ENGLAND

  LONDON (NATIONAL GALLERY): The Rape of Europa.--The Family of
    Darius.--Magdalen at the Feet of the Saviour.--The Vision of St.
    Helena.--The Adoration of the Magi.--The Consecration of St.
    Nicholas.

  EDINBURGH (NATIONAL GALLERY): Venus and Adonis.--Mars and Venus.

  DULWICH COLLEGE: A Cardinal pronouncing Benediction.


ITALY

  VENICE (ACCADEMIA DELLE BELLE ARTI): St. Mark and St.
    Matthew.--The Feast at the House of Levi--St. Luke and St.
    John.--St. Christina fed by the Angels.--St. Christina thrown into
    the Lake of Bolsena.--The Virgin, St. Joseph and several
    Saints.--The Virgin and St. Dominique.--St. Christina before the
    False Gods.--The Annunciation.--The Coronation of the
    Virgin.--Isaiah.--Ezechiel.--The Battle of Cursolari.--The
    Flagellation of St. Christina.--The Angels of the Passion.--Jesus
    and the two Thieves.

  VENICE (DUCAL PALACE): The Triumph of Venice.--The Rape of
    Europa.--Peace and Justice.

  ASOLO (VILLA BARBARO): Fresco Decorations.

  ROME (VATICAN): St. Helena.

  FLORENCE (UFFIZZI GALLERY): Esther before Ahasuerus.--Portrait of
    a Man.--Jesus Crucified.--Prudence, Hope, and Love.--The
    Annunciation to the Virgin.--The Martyrdom of St. Justine.--The
    Martyrdom of St. Catherine.--The Madonna and the Infant Jesus
    (Sketch).--Study for a St. Paul.--Gentleman in a white Robe
    (Sketch).--Holy Family with St. Catherine.

  FLORENCE (PITTI PALACE): Portrait of Veronese's Wife.--Portrait of
    Daniele Barbaro.--The Baptism of Christ.--Portrait of a
    Child.--Christ taking leave of His Mother.

  BERGAMO (CARRARA ACADEMY): Reunion in a Garden.--Episode from the
    Life of St. Catherine.

  TURIN (ROYAL MUSEUM): Magdalen washing the Feet of Christ.--Moses
    saved from the Waters.

  NAPLES (NATIONAL MUSEUM): The Circumcision.

  GENOA (DORIA PALACE): Susannah and the Elders.--The same
    Subject.--Allegorical Figures.

  MODENA (ROYAL GALLERY OF ESTE): St. Peter and St. Paul.--Portrait
    of Veronese.--A Captain.

  MILAN (BRERA MUSEUM): The Feast at the House of the Pharisee.--The
    Adoration of the Magi.--The Last Supper.--The Baptism of
    Christ.--St. Gregory and St. Jerome Glorified.--St. Ambrose and
    St. Augustine Glorified.--Christ on the Mount of Olives.--St.
    Anthony, St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian.


BELGIUM

  BRUSSELS (ROYAL MUSEUM): The Adoration of the Magi.--The Holy
    Family with St. Theresa and St. Catherine.--Juno lavishing her
    Treasures on Venice.


SPAIN

  MADRID (MUSEUM OF THE PRADO): Four Portraits of Women of
    Rank.--Calvary.--The Woman taken in Adultery.--Magdalen
    Repentant.--Venus and Adonis.--Jesus and the Centurion.--The
    Infant Jesus, St. Lucia and St. Sebastian.--The Martyrdom of St.
    Genesius.--Jesus in the Midst of the Doctors.--Cain wandering with
    his Family.--The Sacrifice of Abraham.--The Adoration of the
    Magi.--Moses saved from the Waters.--Portrait of a Venetian Woman
    in Mourning.--Young Man between Vice and Virtue.--Susannah and the
    two Elders.


GERMANY

  DRESDEN (GALLERY): Christ on the Cross.--Moses saved from the
    Waters.--The Rape of Europa.--The Wedding at Cana (reduced
    size).--Christ and the two Thieves.--The Good Samaritan.--The
    Adoration of the Magi.--Portraits of Daniele Barbaro
    (replica).--The Presentation at the Temple.--Christ cures the
    Servant of Caharnaum.--Jesus carrying the Cross.--The Resurrection
    of Christ.--The Adoration of the Virgin.

  BERLIN (MUSEUM): Jupiter, Fortune and Germany.--Mars and
    Minerva.--Apollo and Juno.--Jupiter, Juno, Cybile and
    Neptune.--Christ and the two Angels.--Four canvases representing
    Geniuses.--Saturn and Olympe.

  MUNICH (PINACOTHEK): Faith and Religion.--The Death of
    Cleopatra.--Woman taken in Adultery.--Portrait of a
    Woman.--Justice and Prudence.--The Rest in Egypt.--Love holding
    chained Dogs.--A Mother and three Children.--Strength and
    Temperance.--Holy Family.--The Cure of the Servant of Caharnaum.


AUSTRIA

  VIENNA (BELVEDERE): The Rape of Dejanire.--Catherine
    Cornaro.--Christ and the Woman taken in Adultery.--Christ and the
    Samaritan Woman.--The Adoration of the Magi.--The Marriage of St
    Catherine.--The Resurrection.--St. Nicholas.--Quintus Curtius
    throwing himself into the Chasm.--Portrait of Marco Antonio
    Barbaro.--Young Man caressing a Dog.--Annunciation to the
    Virgin.--Adam and Eve and their First-born.--Venus and
    Adonis.--St. Sebastian.--The Death of Lucrece.--St John the
    Baptist--Judith.--Christ entering the House of Zaira.--St.
    Catherine and St. Barbara present two Nuns to the Virgin and the
    Infant Jesus.


SWEDEN

  STOCKHOLM (NATIONAL MUSEUM): The Circumcision.--Magdalen.--A Holy
    Family.--A Madonna.


RUSSIA

  ST. PETERSBURG (HERMITAGE): The Flight into Egypt.--The Adoration
    of the Magi.--Holy Family.--Diana and Minerva.--Mars and
    Venus.--Portrait of a Man.--Lazarus and the Rich Man.--Christ in
    the midst of the Doctors.--The Dead Christ upheld by the Virgin
    and an Angel.--The Marriage of St. Catherine.--Various Sketches.

  LEUCHTEMBERG GALLERY: The Adoration of the Magi.--The Widow of the
    Spanish Ambassador at Venice presenting her Son to Philip II.





*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Veronese - Masterpieces in Colour Series" ***

Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.