l U S O N THE V ES PLATE . J PITER DE TR YI G IC

(I n the Mus'e du Lo u vre)

This large composition S hows a method ra r ely employed by ri Veronese . The great imaginative artist here t ed his hand at u suc the more vigoro s school of painting , and with complete e ff cess . It is esp cially admired for certain remarkable e ects of u Du P foreshortening . This pict re , painted for the cal alace , served ’ o o o u XIV th s as a ceiling dec rati n in L is chamber at Versailles , fi until it was nally transferred to the Louvre .

RHE LAFI TTE C | E PA RI S

B Y F R A N C O I S C R A S T R E

T R A N S L AT E D F R O M T H E F R E N C H B Y F R E D E R I C T A B E R C O O P E R W I T H E I G H T F A C S I M I L E R E P R O D U C T I O N S I N Q O L O U R

m Si l‘lPITERNU

F D I M PA RE ER C K A . STO KES C O NY N EW YO RK PU B LI SH ERS P Y T I r a B Y C O R I GH , g , K P N Y F REDE R I C K A . S T O E S C OM A

T H E -P L I M P T O H o r R x s s [ w -D -O ] n o n w o o o -u A S S o U o s -A C O N TEN TS

I n t r o d u c tion

Th e F ir s t Y ea r s

Th e S ojou r n in V en i c e

Th e W e ddin g a t C a n a

V er on ese a n d t h e I n qu i sition

Th e J o u rn ey t o Ro m e

Th e Re t ur n t o V en i c e

T h e D e c or a tio n o f t he D u c a l P a l a c e

T h e L a s t Y ea r s

L I ST O F I LL U STRATI O N S

Plate J upit er Des t r oyin g t h e V i c es Frontispiece

In t he Mus'e du Louvr e

h e D s c es a t m m a u II . T i ipl E s

I n t he Mus 'e d u Louvre

Th e o Fa m III . H ly ily

In t he Mus'e du L ou vre

n a n IV . Th e W e ddi g a t C a

In t he Mu s'e du Louvr e

Th e F a m ily of D a r iu s

In the N iona Ga er Lo ndo n at l ll y ,

V I C a va r . l y

In the Mus'e du Louvre

h M a r r a e of S t . C a h er n e V I I . T e i g t i

I n t he Acc a derm a de e Be e Ar i Venice ll ll t ,

V Th e V s on of St e en a III . i i . H l

I n t he N a iona Ga er London t l ll y ,

I NTRODUCTION

T has been said of Veronese that he was the most I absurd and the most adorable of the great paint

a l it n i ers . Paradoxic as sounds , this judgme t s

perfectly true . Absurd , Veronese undoubtedly was ,

n hi i ai i i s d sd n of logic and common sense , in h s complete indifference to historic truth and school tradi

n hi tions , and i s anachronistic habit of garbing antiq I ' 12 VERONESE

uity 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

i - nfi fantasy, his na ve self co d en ce, his own peculiar way of understanding mythology an d religion that have made him the a dorable artist whose glory has

been consecrated by the centuries . i Thanks to the rare power of his gen us , 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 superficia lit ies 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 l thinker nor an historian , nor a mora ist ; he was quite

simply a painter , but he was a very great one . If his

be preference is for the joyous scenes of life , that is ca use life treated him indulgently from his earliest — —I E S S AT U PLATE II . TI DI CIPLE EMMA S

( In the Mu s'e d u Louvre)

r This biblical scene , as t eated by Veronese , in no wise resem bles the same s ubject as treated by the Primitives or by Rem M u u brandt . The Venetian aster does not tro ble himself abo t F O u tradition ; for him , this east is simply an pport nity for a u u u beautif l pict re , brilliant in colo r, and embellished with rich accessories and architectural drawing .

P IERRE LAFI TT E a I I O E. PAR S

16 VERONESE at Venice that the Fea st a t the House of Simon the

ha risee ea s a t the H use Levi P , the F t o of take place ; it is in Venetian surroundings that Jesus presides over

in the Wedd g Fea st a t Ca na .

On e can understand how the painters of the Ve n t i e a n school , nurtured in the dazzling and joyous

f - light o 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 f enamoured o Venice , achieved , through his wish to

glorify her , that magnificence of colour and of expres

sion which remains his distinctive mark .

TH E FI R S T Y E AR S

of Nevertheless , Veronese was not a native Venice

but of Verona , as is indicated by the surname that was bestowed upon him during his life and that has h adhered to him ever since . His rig tful name was 1528 Paolo C alia ri. He was born at Verona in and

his r not in 1530 , as is asserted by several of biographe s , l notably by Car lo Rido fi . The correct date is now

Of verified by the discovery , in San Samuele Venice, VERONESE 17

’ of Ver on ese s parish church , of the register deaths wherein the decease of the great painter is entered as

l 158 da having occurred the gth of April , 8 , the very y

when he completed his sixtieth yea r . i Paolo C aliari belonged to a family of a rtists . H s i father Gabriele C a l ar i, was a sculptor and enjoyed ,

’ n some little reputation in his own city . Ver o ese s

n uncle ntonio Badile , was a pai ter , and in such , A

pictures as are known t o 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 com

patriots held him .

’ Veronese s father, being of a logical turn of mind ,

t o wished , since he himself was a sculptor , make a sculp

tor of his son . Ver onese learned t o model statuettes

la s in c y , a nd , 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 t o learn to paint with so much zeal and imagination 18 VERONESE that his father made no attempt to check his inclina

tion , 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 C a r ott o .

From the outset , Veronese applied himself ener i ll g et ca y to perfecting his skill in line drawing . The future genial painter of wondrous fantasy yielded him self without a murmur to the rude but salutary ex

igen cies of technique . Strange caprice on the part of an artist who was destined to show so much dex

rit t e y in execution and lavishness in decoration , his tastes turned towards the most severe and least

of D L imaginative masters , Albert urer and ucas L Van eyden . It was through copying the engravings

of these illustrious masters that he learned how to draw .

Such lessons always bear their fruit . In this labor

st ea di ious apprenticeship , Veronese acquired that

ness 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 . VERONESE 19

Even his earliest attempts reveal his abunda nt

and facile genius ; and these first , and one might

almost say immature , works already foreshadow the f great artist . The a fectionate patronage of his uncle

Badile greatly facilitated his d'but . At an age when young folk have not usually begun to form dreams

C a lia ri of the future , young 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

t . A confines of his na ive city short time later , the cardinal Ercole di Gonzaga decided to decorate the M cathedral at antua , recently rebuilt by Giulio

e C a liar i Romano . H sent a summons to as well as to three other Veronese painters who enjoyed a big

M F r n reputation : Battista del oro , Paolo a i a t o degli

i Bru sa sor ci Ubert , and , who was regarded as the

Titian of Verona . The cardinal instituted a sort of rivalry between these four artists , and gave them 20 VERONESE

orders for four pictures , destined to be competitive .

The subject entrusted to Paolo C alia ri was a r epr e

Te a i ns o . An scutation of the mpt t o f St thony. The

young painter applied himself resolutely to the task .

Far from intimidating him , the redoubtable compe tition 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 Vero

nese over his three competitors .

Veronese lost no time in returning t o Verona , but , however flattering the esteem with which his com

n patriots surrounded him might be , he was not lo g in finding that the limited scope afforded by his native

i t c ty was oo narrow for his act ivity . He had a boy

Zelo hood friend , Battista t ti, a painter like himself,

and also like himself tormented by dreams of glory . Together they quitted Verona and betook themselves t o T of iene , in the duchy Vicenza. Here they had VERONESE 21

the good luck to meet a man of discrimination , in

f - Po the person o the paymaster general rt esco , who

entrusted them with the decoration of his palace .

The two friends apportioned the work between them ; l while Ze ott i, who had studied at Ven ice under Titian ,

undertook the fresco painting , Veronese decorated the

s r intervening panels in g ri aille, o gray monochrome .

The result of this friendly collaboration was a com

l t i f pe e ser es of paintings , o great diversity : hunting

scenes , banquets , dances and numerous subjects bor

or i L ves rowed from mythology from h story , the o of

Venus a nd Vulca n, the Heroism of M ucius Sca evola ,

es iva o o a ra o the F t l f Cle p t , and a remarkable S pho nis ba . This work in common was not without profit

’ t o Veronese . Zelot ti 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

ni the home of a certain E , in the village of Fan zolo , in the neighbourhood of Trevise . After this they sepa Z i rated , elot t going to Vicenza , whither he had been i summoned , while C a l a ri betook himself to Venice, 22 VERONESE the Promised Land towards which he was impelled

by his ardent desire for glory . When he arrived in the Most Serene Republic ,

li ri -fi e C a a was not yet twenty v years old . We have no reliable document regarding these first years of

his residence there , nor even of the impressions pro duced a upon him by the opulent and m gnificent city .

But these impressions are easy to conceive . To

anyone so sensitive as he to externals , Venice must

n have seemed encha ted 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 eager ness his colour - enraptured eye must have rested upon

fila r e those white marble palaces , moulded and g ed

in arabesque , those churches paved with precious

mosaics , those quays swarming ceaselessly with a G picturesque and motley crowd of Armenians , reeks

M - and oors , spreading the sun bathed pavements

with a glittering display of spangled ornaments , tur

- uoise . q inlaid cutlery , and multicoloured fabrics

If the models that passed in endless procession

VERONESE 25 before his eyes impressed him as magnificent oppor

t unit ies, the sight of what other painters had already wrought from this material aroused his artist soul t o

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 ; Car

io i pa cc , with his na ve and picturesque reproductions

of Venetian life . Among the living , Sansovino , simul

t an eously 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 ma nipulated his brush with the firm hand of

youth .

All these masters Veronese admired indiscrim

ina t el y , 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 a cqurrin g manner i sms and becoming an imita tor . By a special grace 26 VERONESE

o accorded to genius al ne , Veronese succeeded in t e maining 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 noth ing 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 fl and easy ; fine dwellings , owers , copious repasts ,

women lux uriously apparelled , precious fabrics , horses

La s and dogs of fine breed . If he wished to paint a t S upper, it mattered little to him that legend and his tory agree regarding the simplicity and the humble

station of Jesus and his disciples : History an d tra A dition did not count with him . repast, whatever i it would be, he could not conce ve of, unless around

a sumptuous ta ble , covered with costly vessels , served VERONESE 27 by attendants in picturesque costumes and enlivened

f ha rm ni by the antics of bu foons or the o cs of music .

It was thus that he painted Christ , it was after this original conception that he worked out his immortal

n compositions . Accordingly no o e could justly a p

praise Veronese , without first setting aside , as he did ,

all those historic data which he voluntarily ignored .

TH E S OJ O U R N I N V E N I CE

There are few painters of whose private life so

little is known as of that of Veronese . The contem pora ry 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 exist

— ence . 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 t o be put upon

his dignity, still less upon his honour . He was neither

a sycophant nor a courtier, accepting commissions

' ” i . i but never sol citing them H s disinterestedness , 28 VERONESE

r writes C ha rles Y ia rt e, has rema ined celebra ted i during one ent re 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 ex pected to furnish their

colours and their canvases , but demanded only the

i . L n price of the r toil ater o , having become , if not

i ' r ch 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 i frequented high society , a nd brought t o t that Italian open -heartedness which makes the compa ny of the illustrious a relax ation and a pleasure rather than an

embarrassment or an effort . He won valuable frien d

” ships 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 , Ber

i i ha d nardo Torl on , a Veronese by birth , to whom he N brought letters of introduction . o sooner had young f 1 C a lia ri arrived In Venice at the beginning o 555,

30 VERONESE

i church he pa nted 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

Hi to understand the reason . s main object being to

delight the eye , he attributed considerable space to fl vases , furniture , armour , fruits , owers , graceful drap l eries , bri liant 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 . W hen the church , completely decorated , was

opened to the public , there was general rejoicing ;

Veronese received the unanimous vote of approval ,

from t he 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 VERONESE 3 1

t Most Serene Republic , vic orious over the seas and

surfeited with wealth , attained the zenith of her glory .

In her opulence Venice chose to employ her treasures

- D in self adornment ; palaces arose on all sides , the uca l

Palace itself was redecorated ; Sansovino was just

completing the new Government offices . The wealthy brothert and equally wealthy parishes were seek ing out every painter of repute to decorate their

churches and their convents .

Accordingly , Veronese had arrived at the crucial i moment to satisfy the demands of art . H s rivals

l Lo were negligib e : Salviati , Battista Franco , Schia

s Zelot ti i Vocelli von , , Oraz o 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 Vero

’ nese s glory . As to the aged Titian , he was no longer producing pictures with his old -time fertility ; further

more , he had already divined the genius of Veronese

and conceived a friendship for him .

- 1555 And so , throughout thirty three years , from 15 to 88 , the masterpieces that were born beneath 32 VERONESE

’ 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 trium

phant beauty of Venice . Shortly after the decoration of San Sebastiano was D i completed , aniele Barbaro , Patr arch of Aquileia

and wealthy patrician of Venice , had a splendid M residence built him at asiera by Palladio , a cele

br a t ed architect of the period . Being a man of artistic

t o taste , he wished embellish it with paintings and

statues worthy of its imposing architecture . For

the sculpture he summoned Alessandro Vittoria ; the

paintings were entrusted t o Paolo Veronese .

n The patriarch Barbaro was o e of his friends , and

accordingly allowed him a free hand , and even left

the choice of subjects t o him . i Veronese , who was a prodigiously fertile art st , left not a single space in Barbaro ’s house unoccupied i with colour . Wherever space would not perm t of

large compositions , he painted trophies , garlands ,

flowers , even statues , possessing all the lustre and V — THE W N AT N PLATE I . EDDI G CA A

(In the Mus'e d u Lo u vre)

This immense composition is the most celebrated work by

Veronese . It is considered as one of the masterpieces ofall paint u u ing . The greater n mber of the g ests at this feast are portraits

u x u of illustrio s characters of the si teenth cent ry , and the artist has u incl ded himself, along with Tintoretto and Titian , in the group of u musicians in the foregro nd .

36 VERONESE

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

in the construction of the library , the procurators structed the architect to arrange with Titian as to a f V choice o painters to decorate it in competition . e

n s i r o e e was immedia tely designated , together w th

lo ti B i LO Ze t , atista Franco , Giuseppe Salv ati , Schia

l - vene and I Fratina , who were to divide the twenty one

ceiling panels between them . Three round com

ho pa rtm ent s fell to the lot of Veronese , w filled them

e i h Ari h with figures representing Music, Geom try w t t

’ u n se s metic, and Hono r . Under Vero e brush these cold abstractions took on the most charming forms ;

they were represented by graceful women , each sur rounded by the attributes of the science which she

symbolized . A recompense was promised by the procurators to the artist whose paintings should be T a djudged most beautiful . itian was enthusiastic VERONESE 37

over those of Veronese . Loyal and noble a rtist that

the of he was , he himself solicited votes 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

n which he delighted to wear o solemn occasions .

These great oflicial works did not diminish the num

r ber of his productions for churches , convents , o private i f persons of wealth . No other art st a fords an ex a mple of similar fc ndity .

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

B i ri have had is his brother enedetto C al a , whose artistic aid was limited to painting in the prospective of the va st architectural designs with which it pleased

Veronese to embellish all his canvases .

The epoch of his most fertile product ion was be tween 1562 and 1565 ; it was also the period in which

he executed his largest and most celebrated paintings ,

of W in notably his famous canvas the edd g a t Ca na ,

eas a t the H use the ha risee ea s a t his F t o of P , his F t 38 VERONESE the House the Le er eas a t the H use of p, and his F t o of Simon .

These four pictures are known under the name of

the four Fea sts . Two of them belong to France and

in hang the museum of the Louvre , in the room known by the nameof the Sa lon Ca rr'; these are the Fea st a t the House of Simon the Pha risee and the Wedding

a t Ca na .

TH E W E DD I N G AT CAN A

Veronese has treated this subject twice . Accord in gly the picture in the Louvre must not be confounded with that of the same name in the Brera museum at i f Milan . In sp te of the value o the latter, it bears no comparison t o the gigantic canvas in the national

museum of France .

This picture of the Wedding a t Ca na was painted by Veronese for the refectory of the convent of San

G M n Riva d ei iorgio aggiore , o the island that faces the

chia v S oni. It remained there until the time of Napo

’ leon s Italian Campaign . Bonaparte , who loved the arts

without understanding them , laid profane hands on the V — THE F O F U S PLATE . AMILY DARI N G (In the ational allery , London)

This picturesqu e painting is one of the most curious of all ’ er o n ese s u V works . It was painted in ret rn for the hospitality r P fi which he received f om the isani family , and all the gures in it u are portraits of members of the ho sehold . Another point worthy of note is the anachronism of the warriors clad in Roman arm ou r standing before the kneeling women, who are dressed in the man u ner of the six teenth cent ry .

42 VERONESE

2 responded to 97 francs in the coin of France . Taking into consideration the enhanced value of money since

2 - that epoch , these 97 francs would represent to day

francs . Such is the price which the grea test artist of his time received for a masterpiece which

to -day commands the admiration of the entire

Never did Veronese display so much brilliance ,

dispense so much imagination as in the Wedding a t

Ca na ; never did he show a greater dexterity in exe

cution ; for, however considerable the dimensions of

the canvas may be , it demanded nothing less than

genius to distribute without clash or dispropor tion

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

n unex balance , i abounding charming details , and

e e h in pct d and picturesque episodes , t at do not the least detract from the effect of the painting as a

whole .

on an On this picture , as so m y others from the VERONESE 43

brush of Veronese , one cannot , as has already been

s on said , pass an equitable judgment , unle s e 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 a t

a na i i C , s voluntar ly 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 borrow

ing anything from history , and loses nothing of its beauty if perchance it does violence to history . And of this the Wedding a t Ca na furnishes a most eloquent

proof.

The composition of this famous picture is well

s in i known . Jesus i seated the m ddle focus , at the

is centre of the table , which curved on each side in

- To i the form of a horse shoe . fill this mmense table ,

Veronese did not go to the scriptures in search of personages ; he drew them from his surroundings and from his own imagination . 44 VERONESE

The groom , a handsome , black bearded young

man , clad in purple and gold , is no other than Alphonso ’ l d Ava os, Marquis del Vasto , and the bride is a portrait of E leanora of Austria , sister of Charles V. , and

. On on Queen of France the left , e discovers , I with some surprise , Francis . , Charles V. , the Sultan

. M E Achmed II , and Queen ary of ngland . Beside the Sultan is a woman richly robed and holding a

- tooth pick ; she is Vittoria Colonna , Marchesa di

on i Pescar a ; then , further are monks , card nals , and

personal friends of the artist . Standing up , clad in

’ brocade and holding a CUpin his hand , is Veron ese s

C a liari. brother, Benedetto In the centre are a group

of musicians . The octogenarian bending over his i Viol , is a portrait of Titian ; Bassano is play ng the

flute ; Tintoretto and Veronese himself draw their

’ bow across the strings of a cello .

The success of the Wedding a t Ca na was triumphal . i The great painters of Ven ce, contemporaries of

Veronese , overwhelmed him with proofs of their admiration ; even morose Tintoretto found some ex t r em ely amiable words in which t o praise his rival in VERONESE 45 fame and Titian embraced the happy painter when , he chanced to meet him in the city streets .

These praises were merited ; the Wedding a t Ca na 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 t o secure him to decorate their

His churches or their convents . first patron , the

li ni Prior Tor o , ordered a picture from him for the

convent of San Sebastiano , the church of which he

n had already decorated . Veronese , by no means u

him a s a t t e u o grateful , painted for the Fe t h Ho se f the Le r 15 0 ai pe , in 7 ; three years later he p nted for the dominican monastery of Sa n Giovanni e Paolo the

ea s a t he H us o Lev F t t o e f i, 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 naively 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 Fea st . 46 VERONESE

The fourth , known under the name of the Fea st a t the H use o Simon the Pha risee o f , 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

We in a the Louvre , opposite the dd g t Ca na . It has

been the property of France for two centuries , and the history of its acquisition by Louis X IV is curious

enough to be worth the telling . Colbert , having learned that Spain had negotiated for the purchase

ea s a e House o i n of the F t t th f S mo , resolved to go

to any lengths in order to acquire it himself, on behalf IV of Louis X . The French ambassador to Venice ,

Pierre de Bonzi , was charged with the negotiations .

To address himself directly to the Servites was im

a possible , since there was 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 kin g ,

n without violating her ow laws , purchased with

public funds the picture from the Servites , and straight VERONESE 47

V way offered it to Louis XI , who returned warm thanks

' to his very dear and great friends , allies and con

fed erates , after having seen this rare and most perfect

” original .

V E RO N E S E A N D TH E I NQ U I S IT IO N

These four Fea sts of Veronese won him a wide

ri spread renown . But there were certain hostile spi ts ,

uncompromising traditionalists , to whom the fantastic elements which he introduced into the composition of his religious pictures were necessarily strongly dis

pleasing . To introduce dwarfs , buffoons , men at arms fl under the in uence of liquor , at a feast where Jesus

and his disciples take part , did not this savour of

irreverence , na y , worse than that , of heresy'

a s a t the H use o Levi the ublica n The Fe t o f P , exe cut ed for of S G o the convent an iovanni e Pa lo , in which Veronese had given free rein to his imagination , H f was denounced to the oly O fice , and on July 18 , 1 573 , the artist was summoned before the tribunal f O the Inquisition .

In the Most Serene Republic this tribunal scarcely 4s VERONESE ha d the same redoubtable power with which the sombre

i i i in fanaticism of Ph l p II had armed t Spain . It was none the less a grave risk to incur it s displeasure at an epoch when the Papacy still held undisputed sway over the guidance of souls . Consequently this

prosecution ca used Veronese serious ala rm . B M . Armand a schet discovered quite recently in i f the arch ves of the Frat i, at Venice , the o ficial record of the trial with all the questions put t o him and his

answers .

The judges took special exception to his Fea st a t the H use o Levi o f , which seemed to them an outrage upon religion . Each one of the figures in the picture f i was brought up separately or d scussion , and the luck i less Veronese was requ red to make explanation . What was the significance of that man who was bleed Wh ing at the nose' y were those two soldiers , on

f on e the steps o the stairway , of them drinking and

i in G i ' the other eat ng , clad erman un form And , at i a repast where the Sav our figures , what was tha t ridiculous buffoon doing with a pa rroquet on his wrist' H Veronese defended himself as best he could . e

PI ERRE LAFIT'I'E d C IE ARI S . P VERONESE 5 1 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 i behind the precedent establ shed by the great masters .

He cited Michelangelo and his La st J udgment :

' ’ At Rome , in the Pope s own chapel , Michel

L M e angelo has represented Our ord , his oth r, Saint

John , Saint Peter and the Celestial Choir , and he has

all represented them naked , even the Virgin Mary ,

and that , too , in diverse attitudes , such as were cer

” t a inl y not inspired by our greatest of religions .

Finally , Veronese emphatically denied the charge of any inten tional irreverence toward the Church ; he

declared that he had simply permitted himself, perhaps

wrongfully , a certain amount of license such as is

accorded t o poets and to fools .

His contrite attitude won him the indulgence of

the Tribunal . But the judges demanded that he should hi i correct s p cture , and he was obliged to remove the dwarfs and the fools and to modify the attitude of T his men at arms . his is the picture that may be s t o- een day at the Accademia delle Belle Arti , at 52 VERONESE

Venice , retouched in accordance with the orders of the Holy Oflice.

T H E J O U RN E Y TO R OME

In i a i i sp te of his keen desire to py a v s t to Rome , Veronese was kept in Venice by his ceaseless produc

tivity, and he attained the age of forty without ever f having had the chance of a sight o the Eternal City.

' in P nt ifl Of all the masterpieces that home of the o s, i he knew nothing , except ng 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

ai . in Rome , but at all events it was f rly brief Beyond

t . this , we are reduced o mere conjecture Furthermore, there is no ex tant evidence to sustain the idea that he

practised his art in the Eternal City . If he had

u painted any pictures there , some trace of them wo ld

surely have been discovered . It must therefore be concluded that he contented himself with admiring VERONESE 53 the ma sterpieces with which his illustrious predeces M i sors , Raphael and ichelangelo , ha d enr ched the ca pita l of the Pontiffs .

n i But his temperame t was too pecul a r, his manner

t oo individua l , and we may as well acknowledge , his

of eri n m nature too superficial , to permit his ex pe c g those profound and overwhelming impressions that radically modify an artistic ca reer.

And for this we ought rather t o be tha nkful than

s to complain , since it was only hi obstinate insistence upon remaining himself that saved Veronese from

shipwreck upon the ever threatening reef of imitation .

TH E R ET U RN T O V E N I C E

From the moment of his return to Venice, Veronese was besieged from all sides ; once again he found him self enslaved to forced labor by the incessant contracts l demanded of him by his fe low citizens . The sca n ti ness of documents which we possess regarding his life does not permit us t o name the chronological order

in which he painted his pictures . We shall therefore gather them into gr oups for the sake of convenience 54 VERONESE

his i . in studying more mportant 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 pro lific producers of which the history of art makes men

n tion . In every o e of his pictures will be found , more e or less accentuated , those qualiti s of composition , of

picturesqueness , and of colour which together consti tute his glory . Accordingly we shall limit ourselves i f to indicat ng , at the di ferent 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 wa y,

together with Tintoretto , the official painter . For the rest the reader may be referred to the complete cata logue 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

. W old sons , Gabriele and Carletto hen they were

enough to hold a brush he en trusted them to Bassano , a Venetian painter whose talent he held in high esteem .

56 VERONESE

great wealth . He even declined the offers made I I him by Philip , who tried to lure him to Spain and would ha ve entrusted him with decorating the

Escurial . It was about the period of his return to Venice that Veronese completed his celebrated picture : The Fa mily of Da rius a t the Feet of Alex a nd er after the

Ba l Issu s G L . tt e of , now in the National allery at ondon

The episode is well known ; Da rius I I I King of

si Per a , conquered at Issus by Alex ander , sends his

wife and children to beg for clem en cy 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 .

’ sti n The warrior , however , is only Ephe o , Alex ander s

lieutenant and friend . The wife of Darius apologizes

i : for her mistake , but Alexander ra ses her up and says

' Y u n . o made o mistake , he also is Alexander

Such is the historic theme . But what matters history to Veronese' Upon this classic subject he ha s

built the most fan tastic , the most improbable , and at the same time the most fascinating of his compositions . VERONESE 57

The picture was painted for the Pisani family which

had given him hospitality, and every one of the figures

contained in it represen ts 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

s some return , he rolled up hi 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

n all of them portraits , without the k owledge of the

Pisani family . But the anecdote is so pretty tha t it

t o is pleasant accept it as true .

It was a direct descendant of the Venetia n Proc ura t or a i , Count Victor Pis n , who sold the painting 1 to England in 857.

TH E DE CO RAT IO N O F TH E DU CAL PALAC E

In 1577 a violent confla gra tion destroyed the D greater part of the ucal Palace . In this disaster 5s VERONESE

i i i all the p ctures per shed w th which Tintoretto , Ho

ratio the son of Titian , and Veronese , had decorated it . Desiring to restore the palace promptly and give

n it a new splendour , the Se ate appointed a committee , authorized to distribute orders among the pa inters and

decorators of Venice . The competitors were numer ous and eager to secu re 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 ex cess of pride , and one day when Jacopo C onta na ri met him in the

street he reproached him with it . Veronese replied that it was not his business to seek for honours but to f be deserving o them , and that he had less skill in

soliciting work than in executing it .

n But they could ot exclude Veronese , whose fame had now become universa l . Accordingly he was

chosen with Tintoretto , and to them were added

Fran cisco 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 - VI I . THE F T H N PLATE MARRIAGE O S . CAT ERI E A B A (In the ccademia delle elle rti, Venice)

u There is , perhaps , no other religio s subject which has so often u stim lated the inspiration of the great Italian painters . Veronese n himself has treated the same sce e several times . The painting u here reprod ced is considered , in view of the picturesqueness of

u i its composition , the bea ty of the faces , and the brill ance of the u colouring, to be one of the best works of the illustrio s artist .

PIERRE LAFI TTE C I P ARI E. S

62 VERONESE of Smyrna and the Defence of Scuta ri are in no wise inferior t o the great central composition . In this H same a ll of the Grand Council , Veronese painted

two other great canvases , representing the Military

of D L Expedition the oges , or edan and Mocenigo .

But for that matter there is not a room in the

‘ Palace of the Doges in which Veronese is not rept e sented by one or more canvases ; in the Hall of the

Anticollegio , there is a ceiling painting representing

r Venice Enth oned , a work that has unfortunately

H Ba le o det eriorated ; in the all of the Collegio , a tt f

ris in l r he D e enier Lepa nto, a Ch t G o y, Venice a nd t og V , a Fa ith, a St . Ma rk, and a ceiling which is considered a s the most beautiful in the whole Palace of the Doges :

e h T rr Be w en us ice Venic Upon t e e estria l Globe, t e J t i a nd Pea ce. The Hall of the Counc l of Ten contains , in the oval ceiling panel : An Old Ma n resting his Head

the H on his Ha nd and A Young Woma n. In all of the

' ” nin the Theolo ica l ir u s Bussola St . Ma rk crow g V t e , , g the original of which is at the present tim e in the

: The Louvre . Mention should also be made of

Triumph of the Dog e Venier over the Turks; the VERONESE 63

Re urn Conta na ri Vi r ver the Gen s a t Chio t of , cto o oe e g gia ; the Emperor Fred erick a t the feet of Alex a nd er

H a m a III . , and , in the all of the Amb ssadors , a gnifi

of cent allegory Venice , personified as a patrician lady

n seen from behind , robed i white sa tin and of marvel lous grace .

Veron ese also ha d a share in t he decoration of

’ a nother of Venice s monumental buildings , situated near the bridge of the Rialto and known by the name

de T of the Fondaco i edeschi . This building , which i d f s to ay occupied by the Post O fice , formerly served a s warehouse for German business men having com

r i m e cial relations w th the Republic . These rich mercha nts ha d had the palace adorned by the greatest

painters in Venice . Giorgione and Titian had deco

r ated it s walls not only within , but also on the exterior ,

where traces of the pa intings can still be seen . Vero

nese was entrusted with four compositions , one of which is an allegory representing Germa ny receiving the

e r s Imp rial C own. It i believed that the canvas now

J u i er o un a nd in the Museum at Berlin , entitled p t , F rt e

Germa ny, once formed part of the decoration of the 64 VERONESE

T Fondaco dei edeschi. It was purchased at Verona

’ 18 1. Veron ese s 1 in 4 celebrity , about the year 580 ,

- had become world wide . Every sovereign who prided himself on his art gallery wished to possess some of

his work . The indefatigable artist endea voured to satisfy them all ; he even corresponded personally with f o . D several them For the uke of Savoy, he painted The Q ueen of Sheba Visiting Solomon; to the Duke f o Mantua , who had honoured him with his friendship ,

‘ he sent a Moses Sa ved from the Wa ters; to the Em

a e a nd r cris peror Rudolph II . he gave a Ceph l P o and

e nus . T i a Po m of Ve hese last two canvases , of wh ch E the German mperor was very proud , were taken

him G trium from by ustavus Adolphus , when that

phant conqueror passed through Vienna .

Throughout his life , Veronese remained faithful i to the pompous , brilliant , ornamental school of pa nt

ing . Not that he was inca pable 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 VERONESE 65 painting entitled J upiter Destroying the Vices abun d antly 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 unfa mil

iar formulas . This famous painting , proud and virile n k i style , was ta en from Italy by the victorious Armies f o France , and placed in Versailles in the chamber of

X IV. Louis , where for a long period it ser ved as the

ceiling decoration . It was finally removed and now

L a hangs in . the ouvre , in company of other m ster

pieces by the same a rtist .

TH E LAST YE ARS

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 i i act v ty , his prodigious facility m ade 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 66 VERONESE

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 t o a simple enumeration of the pictures which Veronese painted for the neighbouring islands

of Venice , such as Murano and Torcello , for the country

f Orla o house o the Grimani at g , for that of the Duke

i . of Tuscany at Artemino , or for the Palace of the P sani

To Verona , to Brescia , to Vicenza , to Treviso , to

Fr a ri i Padua ; to Venice also , to the , to Ognissant , to

the Umilta , to San Francisco del Orto , to Santa Cata

Ma rria e S . rina , for which he painted his famous g of t

rine Ca the , everywhere , in short , where they required i him , he sent marvellous canvases , magic w th 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 i betrayed fatigue or waning power s . A gen us almost

unique , he wen t steadily forward and no one could

f him in i say o , the presence of his latest product ons , VERONESE 67 wha t 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 .

on One day, while following a procession foot ,

Veronese contracted a cold , and after a brief illness he

died . His obsequies took place in the parish church

a 1 158 . of San S muele , April 9 , 8 On that day he

would have completed his sixtieth year . W hen 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 prematu re , 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 '

x Such as they are , brilliant and lu uriant , his works rema in the most abundant that have ever come from

f n the palette o any o e painter, and Veronese stands

n lastingly , i the history of Art , as the most amazing

and in of all masters , both in colour composition .

THE WORKS OF PAOLO VERONESE

THE WORKS OF PAOLO VERONESE

FRANCE

O V : PARIS (MUSEUM F THE LOU RE) The Wedding at Cana. The

Feast at the House of Simon the Pharisee . Jupiter destroying the Vices.

— Y u Portrait of a o ng Woman. Susannah and the Elders . The Dis

Emm aiis. F E . i ciples at The ainting of sther The Burn ng of Sodom .

al . i Two Holy Families . C vary Jesus Stumbl ng Beneath the Weight

. ic . of the Cross . St Mark Crowning the Theolog al Virtues Jesus

’ - - Curing Peter s Mother in law. U E M ONTPELLIER (M S UM) : The Virgin in the Clouds . The Marriage

. F c m of St . Catherine . St rancis Re eiving the Stig ata .

U : l i RENNES (MUSE M) Perseus De iver ng Andromeda .

U : c c E c . m S LILLE (MUSE M) S ien e and loquen e The Martyrdo of t.

George .

c ROUEN (MUSEUM) : St . Barnabas Curing the Si k .

ENGLAND

ON : E - LONDON (NATI AL GALLERY) The Rape of uropa . The Family

— s l F . of Dariu Magda en at the eet of the Saviour The Vision of St.

- . cr Helena . The Adoration of the Magi The Conse ation of St . Nicholas .

N A : — EDINBURGH (NATIO AL G LLERY) Venus and Adonis . Mars and

Venus .

U I : al c D LW CH COLLEGE A Cardin pronoun ing Benediction . 74 VERONESE

ITALY

M B T : . V N S . E ICE (ACCADE IA DELLE ELLE AR I) St Mark and t Matthew.

F . . . The east at the House of Levi St Luke and St John. St . Chris

. i tinafed by the Angels . St Christina thrown nto the Lake of Bolsena.

al . . The Virgin , St . Joseph and sever Saints TheVirgin and St Dominique .

. F A i . St Christina before the alse Gods. The nnunciat on The Coro

f i . . E' c i . s nation o the V rgin Isaiah e h el The Battle of Cur olari.

- l . . The Flage lation of St Christina The Angels of the Passion. Jesus

and the two Thieves .

N : m f VE ICE (DUCAL PALACE) The Triu ph o Venice . The Rape of

c . Europa . Pea e and Justice

ASOLO (VILLA BARBARO) : Fresco Decorations .

ROME (VATICAN) : St . Helena. E FLORENCE (UFFIZZI GALL RY) : Esther before Ahasuerus . Portrait

Crucified . c . Annun of a Man. Jesus Pruden e , Hope , and Love The

d . . elation to the Virgin . The Martyr om of St Justine The Martyrdom

and . of St . Catherine . The Madonna the Infant Jesus (Sketch) Study

— — l . i c . F l for a St . Pau Gentleman in a wh te Robe (Sket h) Holy ami y

with St . Catherine .

” nese s - i FLORENCE (PITTI PALACE) : Portrait of Vero Wife . Portra t of

t m . r of l Daniele Barbaro . The Bap is of Christ Port ait a Chi d.

Christ tak ing leave of His Mother .

Y : E BERGAMO (CARRARA ACADEM ) Reunion in a Garden. pisode

from the Life of St . Catherine .

a s F of TURIN (ROYAL MUSEUM) : Magd len wa hing the eet Christ.

Moses saved from the Waters .

c NAPLES (NATIONAL MUSEUM) : The Circum ision .

76 VERONESE

Barbara c . the Magi. Portraits of Daniele (r epli a) The Presentation at

m . f a the Te ple Christ cures the Servant o C ham aum . Jesus carrying

— . c the Cross The Resurre tion of Christ. The Adoration of the Virgin.

B N : F m — ERLI (MUSEUM) Jupiter , ortune and Ger any. Mars and Minerva.

— — n . t n C bil N Apollo and Ju o Jupi er , Ju o , y e and eptune . Christ and the

— s F c . O two Angel our anvases representing Geniuses Saturn and lympe.

N H PINACOTHEK : F . MU IC ( ) aith and Religion The Death of Cleopatra.

Woman taken in Adultery. Portrait of a Woman. Justice and

c . Prudence . The Rest in Egypt. Love holding hained Dogs A

an c Mother and three Children. Strength d Temperan e . Holy Family.

The Cure of the Servant of Caharnaum .

VIENNA (BELVEDERE) : The Rape of Dejanira . Catherine Cornero. l t Christ and the Woman taken in Adu tery . Chris and the Samaritan

Woman. TheAdorationofthe Magi. The Marriageof St. Catherine .

N c . i u i i m s The Resurrection. St . i holas Qu nt s Curt us throw ng hi elf

ba . Y into the Chasm . Portrait of Marco Antonio Bar ra oung Man

i . m E caressing a Dog. Annunciat on to the Virgin Ada and ve and their

- . cr c . First born . Venus and Adonis St . Sebastian. The Deathof Lu e e

i . Za ire. St John the Baptist . Jud th Christ entering the House of N V f St . Catherine and St . Barbar a pr esent two uns to the irgin and the In ant

Jesus.

SWEDEN

a STOCKHOLM (NATIONAL MUSEUM) : The Circum cision. Magd len .

A Holy Family. A Madonna. VERONESE 77

RUSSIA

S E E S U E I E : F i E . T. P T R B RG (H RM TAG ) The l ght into gypt The Adora

— — tion of the Magi. Holy Family. Diana and Minerva. Mars and

- — . ' Ric . Venus Portrait of a Man . La arus and the h Man Christ in

the midst of the Do ctors . The Dead Christ upheld by the Virgin and an

. c . Angel . The Marriage of St Catherine . Various Sket hes

LEUCHTEMBERG GALLERY: The Adoration of the Magi . The Widow

c of the Spanish Ambassador at Veni e presenting her Son to Philip II.