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Paolo CALIARI, known as VERONESE (Verona, 1528 – Venice, 1588)
The Wedding Feast at Cana
1562–1563
© R.M.N. |
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Denon
1st Floor
Salle des Etats
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The Wedding Feast at Cana |
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Painted by Veronese between 1562 and 1563, this immense canvas once adorned the refectory wall of the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. The theme of the Marriage at Cana, drawn from the Gospel of St. John, lent itself magnificently to the room. Instead of following the biblical text faithfully, Veronese based his work on Arentino's version of St. John and transformed the scene into a lavish banquet, recalling a sumptuous Venetian lifestyle.
And yet the work remains profoundly religious, as can be seen from the composition. The central vertical cuts through the body of Christ; the central horizontal lies on the balustrade: above Christ, the theme of the Eucharist is evoked by the butchering of the lamb; below Christ, the hourglass on the table and the dog chewing a bone, the symbol of death, evoke the destiny of mankind.
At the same time, the splendor of Venice is recalled through the beauty of the women, all dressed superbly and bedecked in jewels, and through the exoticism of certain figures wearing turbans. The sumptuous palette also pays tribute to Venice. The requirements concerning the pigments to be used imposed by Veronese's patrons here remind us how important color was for Venetian artists.
This vast painting, which arrived at the Louvre in 1798, became a reference for young artists such as Delacroix. In his Salon reviews, Baudelaire also sang the praises of Veronese's "magical, heavenly, afternoon colors."
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Another famous painting by Veronese – the portrait of a Venetian woman known as The Beautiful Nani – is on the wall to the left of The Wedding Feast at Cana.
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