Paolo Caliari, Detto Il Veronese, Seguace, the Wedding at Cana Veronese, 1690, Oil on Canvas

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Description

Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese (Verona, 1528 – Venice, 1588) Follower
The Wedding at Cana

Oil on canvas
96 x … Read more Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese (Verona, 1528 – Venice, 1588) Follower
The Wedding at Cana

Oil on canvas
96 x 127 cm. - Framed 114 x 145 cm.

The painting, which depicts the biblical episode of the Wedding at Cana, is a magnificent adaptation of the masterpiece by Paolo Veronese (Verona 1528 – Venice 1588), one of the greatest Italian Renaissance painters. The original, from 1563 and created for the refectory of the Benedictine convent of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, is now housed at the Louvre in Paris.

The scene immortalizes Jesus' first miracle, recounted in the Gospel of John, the transformation of water into wine during a wedding banquet at Cana in Galilee, where he had gone with some disciples and his mother. At a certain point, when the wine ran out, he had containers filled with water drawn from the well brought to him, and performed the miracle.

The artist reinterprets the Gospel episode as a sumptuous and crowded banquet in 16th-century Venice, set in the hall of a luxurious palace surrounded by imposing classical architecture. At the center of the table sits Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary, while in the foreground stands a group of musicians, traditionally recognized as portraits of the greatest Venetian painters of the time (including Veronese himself, Titian, and Tintoretto).

Thanks to its extraordinary fame and rich narrative, the work has been the subject of numerous period replicas, versions, workshop copies, and subsequent derivatives over the centuries, often destined for private collections to satisfy the high demand of collectors and aristocrats of the time.

The episode, which inaugurates the sequence of Christ's miraculous actions, is transformed into a phantasmagoria of colors, illuminated by brilliant light and the use of an extremely vivid palette.

The painting is superbly decorative, of good execution quality, and characterized by a luminous design, with lines highlighted by a vigorous drawing, and a rather marked play of light and shade.

Moreover, copies were very common in Paolo Caliari's workshop (organized almost like a family business with his brother Benedetto and sons Carlo and Gabriele), characterized by a practical, artisanal approach rather than a "school" in the Renaissance sense.

Our version fits perfectly into this tradition, which, for the halls of noble palaces or private collections, required copies to be drastically reduced in scale, while maintaining the complex theatrical scenography and vibrant colors typical of Veronese taste.

Many contemporary or slightly later replicas were not mere slavish copies. In some variations, iconographic details were modified, and portraits of the patrons (in the form of spouses or guests) were inserted. In our case, the drawn layout is quite faithful to the original, and above all—a detail that makes it highly interesting from a collector's perspective—we see all 100+ figures reproduced, with the exception of those in the background, some of whom were omitted.

There are important versions officially catalogued as "Paolo Veronese's Workshop" in prestigious public collections, such as the canvas from the Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, or the same subject, housed at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, which adopts the iconography, albeit with a more sober and essential layout.

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Wedding at Cana, Paolo Caliari
1563, oil on canvas, 666 x 990 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Good condition with restorations appropriate to the period.

The painting is beautifully framed and comes with a certificate of authenticity and an iconographic .

We handle and organize the shipping of purchased works, both in Italy and abroad, using professional and insured carriers. This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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