Paolo Veronese: The Italian Renaissance Artist Behind the Emerald Green Color

Did you know that a color is named after him? It’s about the emerald green. According to some esotericists, he was still “alive”, since his mind crossed the planetary spaces – the artist was charged with a universal task – to be responsible for the cultural development of humanity.

This in itself, even if it seems doubtful, speaks of the high estimation of the personality of the Italian Renaissance artist Paolo Veronese.

Paolo Veronese, approx. 1560 / Image: Getty Images

His real name was Paolo Cagliari, but he became known as Veronese, after his native Verona. In the 16th century, the city became part of the Republic of Venice. The artist’s creative path took place at a time when Italian Renaissance art was experiencing its last flourishing period, known as the Late Renaissance. In 1527, Rome fell under the blows of the Spanish conquerors, and in the following three years the Florentine Republic was defeated.

Humanist ideals found their refuge in Venice, which managed to preserve its political freedom and a relatively democratic form of government.

Veronese, Titian and Tintoretto are considered the three giants of Venice’s Late Renaissance.

September 1942: Workers take a Paolo Veronese painting out of storage for a routine inspection in an underground chamber at Manod Quarry, North Wales, where paintings from the National Gallery have been moved for safekeeping during the war / Photo: Getty Images

Veronese studied painting in Verona under Antonio Badile, who strictly and strictly taught according to conservative but very useful rules. The young artist began his creative journey in 1551 with decorative frescoes with allegorical and mythological subjects for Villa Soranza near “Castelfranco”.

Two years later he was invited to participate in the work on the decorative decoration of the Doge’s Palace in Venice. Veronese loved Venice and stayed there for the rest of his life. He died at the age of 80 on April 19, 1588.

It is 435 years since the death of the Renaissance artist Paolo Veronese.

Paolo Veronese, Self-portrait (1558 – 63) Oil on canvas 63 x 51 cm Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

The subjects in Veronese’s canvases are mostly biblical and historical. His style was influenced by Michelangelo, Raphael and Giulio Romano. From them he takes the taste for grace and visual splendor. He created his own concept of colors, adding shades of green to contrast the red and deliberately intensifying the brightness.

Many Venetian painters followed his technique, captivated by the impact of his paintings. In more recent times, the “Veronese” color was recommended by the industry and this further supported the artist’s popularity.

Christ and the Samaritan woman, Veronese, 1585

Veronese goes through several stages in his work. In the beginning, he strictly followed the tradition of symmetrical volume, strong colors and bright contrast, and the figures in his canvases remained somewhat in the background.

Subsequently, he began to balance components in complex compositional designs and increasingly placed importance on detail and perspective.

The Temptation of St. Anthony 1552-53 Oil on canvas 198 x 151 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Caen, France

His works “The Temptation of St. Anthony” from 1552, painted for the cathedral in Mantua, and the frescoes from the ceiling of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice clearly speak of his exceptional mastery in this direction. The Temptation of St. Anthony oil painting is currently in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, France.

Veronese painted it while in Mantua, in the period after 1548, when he moved there briefly.

In 1553 he finally settled in Venice. There he received his first state commission – a decoration for the Council of Ten hall.

It opens its doors to new large orders.

Church of San Sebastiano, Venice – fresco from the east part of the altar “The Passion of Saint Sebastian” 1565.

According to art critics, the artist’s mature period covers the years from 1855 to 1865. In this 10-year period he created numerous canvases for the Church of San Sebastiano in Venice and many decorative frescoes for Villa Barbaro in Mazer.

An invisible glow seems to be emanating from its ecclesiastical sails. The decoration of the altar is extremely magnificent, surrounded by dynamic scenes, including the “Martyrdom of St. Sebastian”, the patron of the church.

The magnificent decorative style of Veronese still literally stuns the sight to this day. Veronese depicted rich feasts, against the backdrop of spectacular architecture, as well as pictures of the social life of the people. These are large-scale canvases filled with vibrant dynamics.

One of these canvases – “The Wedding at Cana”, created for the refectory of the “San Giorgio Maggiore” monastery in Venice, was looted by Napoleon in the 19th century and taken to France, to the Louvre.

The Wedding at Cana, 1563. Oil on canvas 666 x 990 cm. Louvre, Paris

The painting depicts an imaginary palace in which over one hundred and thirty guests are present at the biblical wedding. At least that’s what art critics list. The artist even depicted himself in the crowd, in the company of friends. The clothes of the guests are colorful, brightly colored and lavish. The volume of the picture is 67 sq. m.

It is known that, according to the biblical account, when the wine ran out, at the request of the Virgin Mary, Christ turned the water into wine.

Veronese painted this spectacular work of his for a year and a half, using the most expensive materials of the time. “The Wedding at Cana” became one of the main sights of Venice and an object of admiration for the Venetian mastery of painting in the 18th century.

The Marciana National Library, Venice, where some of the ceiling paintings are by Veronese (Photo: Getty Images)

“Christ in the House of Levi” (also “Feast in the House of Levi”), also called “The Last Supper”, was commissioned from Veronese for the refectory of the Basilica of San Giovanni e Paolo to replace an earlier work by Titian, damaged in a fire in 1571. And here we have a sumptuous feast, against a background of exquisite architecture, and many figures. The composition is complex, creates the feeling of depth, and the colors and shapes are more “Veronese” lavish.

The symmetry of the composition is reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, but the mood is more cheerful and somehow “out of the canon”.

Consecration of Saint Nicholas, 4th century Bishop of Myra, circa 320 AD. The saint kneels on the floor as an angel brings him his episcopal cassock, staff and miter. Engraving by H.C. Shenton from the original by Paolo Veronese painted for the altar of Saint Nicholas in S. Benedetto Po, near Mantua / Photo: Getty Images

This painting turned out to be fateful for Veronese, because because of it, the artist was summoned by the tribunal of the Inquisition on the charge that his characters were indecent people – “clowns, drunkards, Germans and dwarfs”, which demeaned the sacred nature of the subject. It is not known how exactly Veronese defended himself, but most likely he invoked the explanation that everything “sinful” that the churchmen see happens in the “house of Levi”, where Christ is just a guest.

The truth is that Veronese not only this time deviated from the traditional pictorial scheme of the religious plot. One of the most exciting works in terms of his mastery, which also passes for “non-canonical”, is his work “Sermon of John the Baptist” (1560), in which various reactions of the preacher’s listeners are conveyed.

Villa Barbaro, “The Holy Family”

Around 1560, a rich man – Daniele Barbaro, commissioned Veronese to decorate his new villa, built by the great architect Andrea Palladio. Veronese decorated a large number of halls with frescoes that emphasized perspective. It surrounds the frescoes in some of the rooms with decorated frames. He divides the walls with columns and railings, behind which he paints beautiful landscapes.

Villa Barbaro, view from room “Baco”

His brother Benedetto helped him in the large-scale work. The landscapes depict mythological figures against an azure sky. Also included are portraits of the Barbaro family.

In the so-called In the cruciform hall of the villa, guests are ushered in by playing muses, and the ceiling in the “Olympus” room is a real opulence of the imagination. With the selection of the subjects, the fresh colorful harmonies, the peculiar composition and the joyful mood they radiate, the frescoes in Villa Barbaro are a real hymn in praise of life.

Villa Barbaro, designed and built by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, with frescoes by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vitoria (Photo: iStock by Getty Images)

Paolo Veronese is among the seven artists who painted for the ceiling of the Marchana National Library in Venice.

For her, Veronese also made portrait canvases of the philosophers Plato and Aristotle.

Aristotle on Paolo Veronese

For the palace of the Pisani family, he painted the oil canvas “The Family of Darius before Alexander”. In this canvas, the clothes of the characters are more than magnificent. The figures are set against a fascinating architectural background. Alexander the Great himself is depicted there in a glorious moment for his personality – when he pardoned the defeated Persian king Darius and his family.

The Family of Darius before Alexander 1565-70. Oil on canvas 236 x 475 cm. National Gallery, London

A small work by Veronese is considered one of his greatest, in the sense of remarkable as a creative achievement. It is about the oil canvas “The Battle of Lepanto”, reflecting the real battle of October 7, 1571, when the Turkish fleet was defeated thanks mainly to the Venetian ships. Originally, this canvas was placed to the left of the altar in the Church of St. Peter the Martyr in Murano.

The central figure in the canvas is St. Virgin Mary, because it is to her that the Venetians pray for victory, and the Holy Virgin sends them an angel who shoots arrows at the Turkish ships.

The Battle of Lepanto 1572 Oil on canvas 169 x 137 cm Accademia Gallery, Venice

Paolo Veronese is also famous as a magnificent portrait painter. He painted portraits while still very young in Verona. Throughout his life he painted his contemporaries.

The work of Paolo Veronese has great artistic and historical-cultural significance. It recreates the spiritual atmosphere of the Late Renaissance in Italy and is truly remarkable.

Emmy MARIANSKA