
Paolo Veronese
Italian Painter
Movements and Styles: The Venetian School, Mannerism, High Renaissance
Born: 1528 - Verona, Italy
Died: 19 April 1588 - Venice, Italy

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"I paint my pictures with all the considerations which are natural to my intelligence, and according as my intelligence understands them."
Summary of Paolo Veronese
Regarded as something of a child prodigy, Veronese matured into one of the most famous masters of the late Renaissance. The artist belongs to the Venetian School and, though he post-dates the period by a generation, he is often grouped with the glorious triumvirate of Titian, Tintoretto and Giorgione. Veronese came into his own however as a superb colorist and painter of the elegant and grandiose - in both theme and scale - of narratives that conveyed their meanings through rich and fluid color schemes. The figures in his works are often described as having the subtle foreshortening of Correggio and Michelangelo's heroism and Veronese typically placed them against a painted architectural "stage" that was redolent of a city (Venice) that was (and still is) thought to resemble a magnificent living arena in its own right. Regardless of the often sacred nature of his subject-matter - Veronese was himself a devout Catholic - his paintings would often exude the worldly, playful atmosphere of 16th-century Venice. John Ruskin once wrote that he learned from Veronese's pictures that "to be a first-rate painter, you mustn't be pious - but rather a little wicked and entirely a man of the world." Ruskin was referring to the gayety in Veronese's paintings which did not always meet with the approval of the ruling Church bodies. Veronese was however a man of principled resilience. This was demonstrated in his defence of artistic freedoms when faced with condemnation from an executive Holy Office committee.
Key Ideas

The youngest of five siblings, Paolo Caliari, nicknamed Veronese after his birthplace, was born in 1528 in the Italian city of Verona, then a mainland province of the Republic of Venice. His father, Gabriele, was a stonecutter; his mother, Catherina, the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman called Antonio Caliari. He was born moreover in Verona's artists' quarter in the district of San Paolo, which may well have accounted for his parents' choice of Christian name. Paolo initially apprenticed under his father which meant he went for a time by his professional name too: Paolo Spezapreda ("Paolo the Stonecutter"). However, while working with his father, Paolo's precocious talent for drawing became apparent and, aged 14, his apprenticeship was transferred to the studio of a local master named Antonio Bandile (he would later marry Bandile's daughter). It is suggested in some unconfirmed accounts that he may have studied simultaneously in the workshops of Giovanni Francesco Caroto, from whom, he may have inherited his fascination with the application of color.
Important Art by Paolo Veronese The below artworks are the most important by Paolo Veronese - that both overview the major creative periods, and highlight the greatest achievements by the artist. | |
![]() ![]() | Crowning of Esther (1556)Artwork description & Analysis: Shortly after arriving in Venice, the 25-year-old Veronese accepted a prestigious commission from the Prelate, Bernardo Torlioni, to work on the San Sebastiano ceiling. His painting shows an early point in the biblical story of Esther as she is crowned Queen by the Persian King Ahasuerus. Esther went on to save the Jewish people (from the evil Haman pictured in the lower-right of the painting) and this deliverance from destruction became the Jewish religious celebration of Purim. Oil on canvas - San Sebastiano Church, Venice, Italy |
![]() ![]() | Muse with Lyre (1560-1)Artwork description & Analysis: Amongst Veronese's early patrons was the Barbaro family who commissioned him to decorate their villa - the Villa Barbaro - near Maser. Indeed, Veronese's ability to adapt his work to satisfy his patron's intellectual tastes is well displayed in Muse with Lyre. To complement portraits of the Barbaro family, Veronese painted figures (or Muses) drawn from antiquity. The Muses were typically the Greek goddesses of the arts and sciences and they were often depicted with musical instruments including, but not limited to, the lyre. Fresco - Villa Barbaro, Maser, Italy |
![]() ![]() | The Wedding at Cana (1563)Artwork description & Analysis: The Wedding at Cana was commissioned by the Benedictine monks of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice to hang in their new refectory designed by Andrea Palladio. The terms of Veronese's commission stipulated that he produce a painting of the wedding feast large enough to fill the entire refectory wall. It took Veronese 15 months to complete, probably with the help of his brother, Benedetto Caliari. The masterpiece is based on the Biblical story of Christ's first miracle, though the spectator is asked to work to find that particular parable within the bustle of this multi-layered, modern, painting. As Deanna MacDonald described it: "All this imaginative grandeur swirls around a single miracle. With this image Veronese achieves a delicate balance between worldliness and piety, placing the Son of God amidst the fashionable sophistication of Venetian society." Oil on canvas - Louvre Museum, Paris |
More Paolo Veronese Artwork and Analysis:
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Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors
" Artist Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. . TheArtStory.org
Content compiled and written by The Art Story Contributors
Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors
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First published on 20 Nov 2018. Updated and modified regularly.
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