Paolo Veronese: pictures and their descriptions

Italian artist Paolo Veronese became one of the most outstanding representatives of art of the fourteenth century. His works are known all over the world, they have inspired and continue to inspire followers. A detailed analysis of his biography with the chronology of the appearance of canvases will help you to find out the pictures created by Veronese.

early years

The future creator of the Late Renaissance was born in Verona, in the family of the famous sculptor Gabriele Cagliari. It's no wonder that in the boy art talents awoke. Paolo was taught by Antonio Badile, a Verona painter, who was also his uncle. Already at the age of twenty, Veronese began to work independently. At first he was engaged in the creation of oil compositions and frescoes - today they are preserved in Villa Emo. To the full, his talent as a colorist and decorator was revealed in the process of creating murals for Soranzo in the early 1550s. In his work, there is an understanding of the techniques of Raphael, Michelangelo, Correggio and Parmigianino, who inspired Veronese very much. Paolo's paintings continue the Renaissance traditions, they are filled with cheerful festivity, which will become the hallmark of his works in the future.

The path to recognition

In 1551, Paolo Cagliari moved to Venice, where he received the nickname "Veronese". The paintings of Antonio Badile, from whom he studied, did not become a serious school. A real contribution to his work made trips to Mantua, where Paolo viewed the frescoes of Giulio Romano and the paintings in the Camera Delia Sposo. It was there that the talented young man drew inspiration. Paolo Veronese, whose paintings are filled with incredible harmony, complex poses, expression of gestures and camera angles, was able to get to the top of the skill without serious training, and soon after the move he received a serious order. Verontsu - and the nickname "Veronese" is translated in this way - it was necessary to paint the ceiling for the rooms of the Council of Ten in the Palace of the Doges on the national commission. The resulting work contributed to the recognition of the painter. Veronese's paintings on the central and corner plafonds revealed his talent in all its splendor. A huge painting "Jupiter Casts Out Defects" will subsequently be taken to Paris by Napoleon, and in the allegorical composition "Old Age and Youth" the artist managed to show individuality without traces of someone's influence.

Honored success

The ceiling was made famous by Paolo Veronese. The pictures from the Doge's Palace were so good that an even larger order was soon followed: he had to perform the painting of the monastery church of San Sebastiano. Veronets worked on creating stunning stories for almost ten years and so fell in love with this place, that made a testament ordering to bury him there. After death, the native artist fulfilled his will. The uniqueness of the order is that usually church buildings were decorated with only small frescoes, which is significantly different from the scale of Veronese painting. The artist of the painting "The Coronation of Mary in sacristy", located in the central nave, and the creator of huge plafonds, depicting stories from the life of Esther and Mordecai, pioneered the implementation of such comprehensive projects for the Catholic Church.

First Private Orders

The illustrious Veronese, the painter of paintings and plafonds for the Catholic cathedral and a talented master of making frescos, was in demand not only from the state. In 1560, Paolo received a private order from Daniele Barbaro, who invited him to decorate the villa under the Maser. This original structure of Andrea Palladio was made in the form of a Latin cross (main hall), around which are located smaller rooms. Each room was decorated with illusory niches and columns, which Veronese had to decorate. He brilliantly coped with the task, combining fictional subjects in the works with the real life of the Barbaro family.

Evangelical Series

In the 60's, the most important works were created by Veronese paintings with names associated with the Pir. This is a religious series based on evangelical texts, which tells about the meals of the Lord. Secular painter, devoid of inclination to religious pathos, Veronese superbly coped with colossal canvases, similar to which there was not yet in the history of Venetian art. The painting entitled "Marriage at Cana," which is now in the Louvre, represented the Lord's Table as a grand feast in the open, with balustrades and porticoes around the edges and a huge table crowded with guests. In the center are Mary and Christ, designated by halos. In the essence of the canvas lies an allegory: the Venetian holidays were always celebrated extraordinarily magnificently. The role of the picture created by Veronese with the names "The Last Supper" or "The Feast in the House of Levi" is very significant - it completes the cycle. The double name is simply explained: the finished picture caused displeasure with a too secular interpretation of the event from the Bible. Veronese was summoned to the inquisitors, who were indignant at the depiction of the Last Supper. The artist went on a compromise and gave the picture a second name - "Feast in the House of Levi", removing the canvas from the Magdalene.

The History of the Last Supper

The paintings created by Veronese with the names of Piras became an important contribution to Italian culture. But the "Feast in the House of Levi" deserves special attention, and not only in connection with the history of the name. This is a grandiose work, based on a stunning visual illusion. The artist managed to create instead of a wall a three-marble loggia, so convincingly written out that it seems absolutely real. The scene of Christ's meal becomes dramatized and crowded. Only Magdalena was present in the center, but at the insistence of the inquisitors she was replaced ... with a dog.

Other famous paintings by Paolo Veronese

With the names "The Darius Family before Alexander the Great" or "The Cycle of the Kuchin Family", it is also worthwhile to familiarize every connoisseur of Italian art. The first canvas is among the most spectacular compositions and depicts the encounter of the great commander with the family of the defeated Persian king. Works dedicated to the Kuchchin family are also worthy of attention. The order of the panel cycle is in itself an unusual fact. Historians suggest that the head of the family decided to immortalize the memory of his deceased brother, in addition, it is known that the artist was his close friend and spent a lot of time with Kuchchin, perhaps because he agreed to capture the household members in his paintings. The main canvas is the "Madonna of the Cuccine Family" - an excellent group portrait with religious themes. The creation of the cycle dates from the 1570s.

last years of life

The creation of Veronese's painting "Abduction of Europe" was at the final stage of the artist's work. A canvas with a well-known mythological plot, which was repeatedly used in the works of other masters around the world in different epochs of history, depicting the bull and angel that abducts Europe, which tries to prevent it, is among the works that complete the greatest art history of the late Venetian Renaissance in the history of art. The death of Veronese, Titian and Tintoretto served as its end, but the years of life of these masters still inspire the creators of monumental painting.