Paolo Veronese was a renowned 16th century Venetian painter known for his large-scale frescoes and decorative works. He mastered using bright colors and perspectives to depict elaborate scenes from Renaissance Venice and religious subjects. Some of his most famous works include the Wedding at Cana, The Family of Darius before Alexander, and Allegory of Love paintings - known for their exuberant expressions of Renaissance sensuality and wealth through detailed costumes against architectural backgrounds.

1. Veronese
The Enchanting Fresco Painter
First created 20 Aug 2021. Version 1.0 - 28 Sep 2021. Daperro. London.
The Family of Darius before Alexander (Detail)

2. Paolo Veronese (1528-88) was a
Venetian and the great painter of the
Renaissance. Together with Titan and
Tintoretto, he was one of the three
giants of Venetian painting.
Self Portrait 1558-63
Self Portrait 1558-63. 63x51 cm
Hermitage. St Petersburg Russia.
He was the master of coloured
decorative frescoes. In his art, all the
riches, sensuality and joy of
Renaissance found their final and
most exuberant expression, perfectly
complementing the noble Palladian
architecture.

3. St Catherine Marriage c1547
Veronese painted this at the age of only 19. St Catherine on the right.

4. Jupiter & Vices 1554-56
Amazing perspective of men falling from sky.

5. St Justina & St George 1554
Mannerism is a style of
painting in late Renaissance.
Mannerism is associated with
Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael,
Vasari and Michelangelo. It
emphasizes proportion,
balance and ideal beauty.
Mannerism exaggerates such
qualities, often resulting in
compositions that are
asymmetrical or unnaturally
elegant.
Mannerism noted for its
artificial quality as opposed
to naturalistic quality.

6. St Agnes & St Peter 1554
Mannerism is characterized by
distortions in scale and
perspective and the use of bright,
often lurid colours.
Notes, the small baby Jesus’s
head, the shinning pink blouse,
the lime green skirt and the large
thigh.
Veronese is a Mannerist.

7. Supper in Emmaus 1559
Note more than half a dozen of Children and pets.

8. Supper in Emmaus (Detail) 1559

9. Villa Barbaro. Two Women 1560-61

10. Villa Barbaro. Sala di Bacco 1561

11. Villa Barbaro. 1560-61

12. Wedding Feast at Cana. 1562-63

13. Wedding Feast at Cana. 1562-63
The painting was created the
monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore,
Venice. Veronese painted many of
the well-known faces of his time
including Titian (as musician),
Veronese himself, his brother
Benedetto, Tintoretto, Jacob Bassano
and Palladino.
The setting for the painting is
theatrical, as if the feast was taken
place on a two-level stage in front of
us.
Veronese also painted the costume in
great details and embellishing them
with refined decorations.

14. Wedding Feast at Cana. 1562-63

15. Alexander and Darius’ Family. 1565-67
Note, Persian royal family in European fine clothing.

16. Veronese put the Darius’ family on the center of the painting.
Alexander and Darius’ Family. 1565-67

17. Darius’ Family (Detail). 1565-67

18. Alexander 1565-67
Why did Veronese painted
Alexander in red armour.
Obviously he wanted Alexander
to stand out amid the confusion
of the Persian royal family, not
knowing who was Alexander.
The story about the painting is
that Alexander had defeated
the Persian King Darius III.
Darius was on the run and left
his family behind.
Darius family came forward to
beg for their life. Mistakenly
they kneed down before
Hephaistus, Alexander’s friend.
Alexander came forward and
comforted the family.

19. Monkey 1565-67

20. Anthony, Cornelius and Cyprion. 1567
Fame 1551. Fresco. Castelfranco Duomo
Right

21. Paolo Veronese was a Venetian and a major second generation master of the
late Renaissance. He was a colourist and painted a large number of huge
‘architectural feast’ canvases, like the one above.
House of Simon 1567

22. House of Simon 1567

23. House of Simon 1567

24. House of Simon 1567

25. Venus & Mars 1570
Veronese painted this for Emperor
Rudolph (II) of Holy Roman Empire.
It was one of three mythological
and love-themed works.
The painting portrayed the meeting
of the two lovers, with the naked
Venus embracing the arrival of
arrival of Mars, still dressed in
armour.
Venus with her right hand on the
breast from which the milk flows
out emphasizing her femininity. On
the right of the painting is the war
horse.

26. Allegory of Love I 1570

27. Allegory of Love III 1570

28. Allegory of Love IV 1570

29. House of Simon the Paharisee 1570

30. House of Levi 1573

31. Adoration of the Kings 1572
The Adoration of the Kings
was very common subject
in religious art.
The painting has a strong
diagonal design. The kings
were dressed in elaborate
and stagey costumes. The
setting of the painting was
in a classical temple ruin
and not in a stable.
The main characters were
lined up like actors in a
stage, while the diagonal
was emphasized by a row
of baby winged angels.

32. Adoration of the Kings 1572

33. Adoration of the Kings 1572
The black king and very colourful costumes – bright red, bright green and light blue.

34. Adoration of the Kings 1572
The elaborate costume of the king.

35. Adoration of the Kings 1572
The baby angels

36. St Helen 1575-78
St Helen of the Cross. 1575-78. Oil on canvas
198x116 cm. National Gallery London.
“Helen or Helena was the mother of the
first Christian emperor, Constantine. She
dreamed that an angel revealed to her
the location of the cross on which Christ
was crucified and urged her to travel to
the Holy Land to find it….”
“Saint Helen sat with one foot up on a
stone bench in a window alcove, her
head resting in her hand, her elbow on
the window ledge. As she sleeps, tow
winged cherubs appear in the sky
carrying the True Cross”.
Description from National Galley. London.

37. St Helen c1580
This was a later version of the
painting with a more formal pose
of Saint Helen, with her fine
clothing that was more suitable for
a queen.
On the right side of the painting, a
boy angel was holding a wooden
cross, showing what she was
dreaming.
This was a departure to the normal
Venetian iconography, which
normal depicted the saint standing
by the cross.

38. Esther before Ahasuerus 1575

39. Christ supported by an Angel 1580

40. Rape of Europa 1580

41. Judith & Head of Holofernes 1582
“In the hands of Veronese even
this gloomy scene gains in
solemnity by – initially –
focusing on stark colours to
emphasize the heroine’s
worldly beauty. Only on closer
inspection do we catch sight of
Holofernes’ dark head and the
sack that is ready to contain it,
held by the servant. It is exactly
this contrast between light and
dark, between beauty and
terror, which gives the picture
its Mannerist charm.”
Description of the painting by
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wein

42. Temptations of Christ 1582

43. The Last Supper 1585
An example of his huge ‘architectural’ canvas like the one above.

44. Leda and Swan 1585

45. Triumph of Venice 1585

46. The
End
Music – Handel’s Water Music

47. Baroque Painters

48. April 2019

49. End