Veronese, pseudonym of Paolo Caliari c.1528-1588
Venetian painter

Born in Verona, from where he took his name, he was, along with Titian and Tintoretto, one of the greatest decorative artists of the 16th-century Venetian school. He trained as a stone-cutter and worked in Verona and Mambra, but under the influence of Titian settled in Venice (1553). All his works are bravura displays of technical virtuosity which concentrate on rich costumes set off against sumptuous architectural frameworks. His first frescoes in the Doge's Palace and the Library of Saint Mark's in Venice were admired by the older Titian. In 1573, however, he was called upon by the authorities to explain his rendering of the The Marriage Feast at Cana (1562-63, Louvre, Paris) as an opulent party in which dwarves, among other unlikely participators, are introduced into the scene. The religious foundations of Venice provided Veronese with most of his commissions. His major paintings include The Adoration of the Magi (1573, National Gallery, London), and the Feast in the House of Levi (1573, Venice), which brought him before the Inquisition for trivializing religious subjects. Other works include The Triumph of Venice on the ceiling of the Ducal Palace in Venice (c.1535).