The Story
Paolo Veronese maintained an active workshop that included members of his family to meet the demand for paintings in his style. This picture may have been a collaboration between the artist’s son, Carlo Caliari, and brother Benedetto Caliari, who painted the landscape and figural elements, respectively. The broad brushstrokes do not demonstrate the freedom or effects of flickering light found in Veronese’s own work.
Created in 1585 during the 1550-1600 period, this work belongs firmly within the religion & mythology tradition. Workshop of Veronese worked at a moment when the rediscovery of classical antiquity reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in Oil on canvas, measuring 134.8 × 176.6 cm (53 1/8 × 69 7/8 in.); Framed: 163.2 × 203.9 × 6.4 cm (64 1/4 × 80 1/4 × 2 1/2 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Workshop of Veronese builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Renaissance practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
