The Story
Paolo Caliari (1528 – 19 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( VERR-ə-NAY-zay, -zee, US also -see; Italian: [ˈpaːolo veroˈneːze, -eːse]), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as The Wedding at Cana (1563) and The Feast in the House of Levi (1573).
Included with Titian, a generation older, and Tintoretto, a decade senior, Veronese is one of the "great trio that dominated Venetian painting of the cinquecento" and the Late Renaissance in the 16th century. Known as a supreme colorist, and after an early period with Mannerism, Paolo Veronese developed a naturalist style of painting, influenced by Titian. His most famous works are elaborate narrative cycles, executed in a dramatic and colorful style, full of majestic architectural settings and glittering pageantry.
Executed in oil on canvas, measuring Framed: 176 x 159.5 x 9.5 cm (69 5/16 x 62 13/16 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 150 x 133.4 cm (59 1/16 x 52 1/2 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Paolo Veronese builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
