Venetian painter – my daily art display

Fausto Zonaro

My featured artist today is the Italian painter who was best known for his Realist-style works. He is Fausto Zonaro.

Fausto Zonaro was born on September 18^th 1854 in Masi a township in the Province of Padua in the Italian region of Veneto, located about 70 kilometres southwest of Venice and about 45 kilometres southwest of Padua. At the time of Zonaro’s birth, the area was under Austrian control. He was the eldest of six children to Maurizio Zonaro and his wife, Elisabetta Bertoncin. Maurizio was a builder which nowadays would refer to as a mason and like all fathers he had hoped to pass on his profession to his son Fausto. However, Fausto had, as a young boy, developed a love of drawing and sketching. His father was impressed by his twelve-year-old’s artistic skill so much so that he had him enrolled at the Technical Institute of Lendinara, a town 12 km from Masi and so everyday Fausto would set off on this long journey, often barefooted with his shoes slung around his neck so as to preserve the soles. He achieved great things at the school and his artistic talent blossomed. From there, through the patronage of a Paduan noblewoman, Stefania Omboni, who was a leading light of the cultural and social life of the city, and who encouraged young artists, Fausto was able to enrol at the famous Cignaroli Academy in Verona, which was one of the oldest Art Academies in the world and it was listed as one of the five Accademie Storiche d’Italia (Italian Historic Academies). The director of the Academy was the Italian artist, Napoleon Nani.

Venice under the Snow by Fausto Zonaro (c.1888)

After completing his studies at the Academy, Fausto moved to Venice where he opened up his own studio on Palazzo Pesaro, on the Grand Canal, and it was here that he painted both small landscape works which were favoured by the visiting tourists and larger works featuring daily life of the people of the city.

*Una Via di Napoli by Fausto Zonaro (c.1884)*

He actively displayed works in exhibition in Naples, Turin and Rome and gained the respect of the art critics. He painted mainly genre works in oil and watercolour.

*The Port of Naples by Fausto Zonaro (c.1888)*

Whilst living in Venice Zonaro met Duke Paolo Camerini, who became not only his close friend of a lifetime, but also one of his most generous patrons. One of Zonaro’s commissions from Camerini was for a series of paintings which would adorn the walls of a living room in the duke’s luxurious villa, the Piazzola sul Brenta, which nowadays is known as Simes-Contarini.

Villa Contarini as it looks nowadays

The series of thirty pastel works, which took Zonaro from 1887 to 1889 to complete, included views of Naples and surrounding places: alleys and streets of the city, one of Mt. Vesuvius, and many depicting local flora. They were set in the walls of the room and framed by plaster decorations that act as real frames.

*Fausto Zonaro: Young Girl Carrying a Pumpkin, (1889)*

Competition with other painters to sell their works of art was very difficult and the market for his work, despite its quality, was highly unstable and competition was ruthless. In the years between 1885 and 1888 Zonaro wandered between Venice and Naples, without a specific plan for his future. At the time he simply declared:

“…It was a hard and adverse period. Time passed without a trace. The cities and places where I stopped to paint left no imprint on my memory. My experiences of those times are just a confused and indistinct memory as if, instead of living them, I had only dreamed of them. But the impressions I got from these trips were like the colours I imagined on my palette…”.

In 1888, Fausto Zonaro was living in Paris which was, at that time, the world centre for Impressionism and he met with many of the “masters” of this painting style. For the next twelve months he settled into a concentrated study of art in an attempt to refine his artistic techniques. Fausto’s paintings were a mishmash of various styles. He leant towards both Impressionism, albeit a rather superficial Impressionism, which permitted him to quickly complete the sketches all of which were conducted outdoors There was also a more nineteenth Italian style, detailed and full of colours, which Zonaro did not hesitate to use in his large works or in many of his works he created in the studio. He was fascinated with the study of light, which will he increasingly perfected over the years and which made the name Fausto Zonaro synonymous with a painter of life and light.

*Mia Moglie Elisa (My wife Elisa) by Fausto Zonaro (c.1891)*

But life was to change for Fausto. Changes that made him focus more on his future. Among the other students who attended the school of Palazzo Pesaro was a young woman, a daughter of an engineer from Belluno, Elisabetta Pante. Fausto and Elisa became great friends and constant companions.

Elisabetta Pante by Fausto Zonaro (1889)

Zonaro was a great reader of books especially those extoling the virtues of travel and his favourite book at the time was Edmondo De Amicis book entitled Constantinople.

It was a non-fiction travel book published in 1877 which was a best-seller. Fausto and Elisabetta decided that travelling to Constantinople and living there for a period of time would lead to an exciting future. It would be the perfect opportunity to search for new inspirations and new places to explore.

Elisa(betta) left Venice first. She travelled to Constantinople, to an unknown city, on her own without any fear for her safety despite being a single lady. She had a teaching diploma and with the help of the Royal Italian Embassy of Italy began to initiate a network of relationship with the art community which would help Fausto. Whilst she awaited the arrival of Fausto she busied herself with teaching children sketching and the Italian language. She also arranged to rent two small wooden buildings, in the ancient district of Pera, now known as Beyoglu, the economic district and home to all the European Embassies. One building for herself and one for Fausto when he finally arrived in Turkey.

Fausto Zonaro soon followed Elisa leaving Venice for Constantinople. During his sea passage he never missed the opportunity to paint depictions of the stop-over ports such as Ancona, Bari, Corfu, Patras, and Athens.

*Fountain of Anadoluhisarı by Fausto Zonaro (c.1893)*

When Fausto Zonaro finally arrived at Constantinople he could not believe the beauty of the place and its people. All art was forgotten for the first few weeks after his arrival as he immersed himself into the city and its people. He soon realised that the light and the atmosphere he experienced whilst living in Italy did not compare to the light and atmosphere he was now experiencing in Turkey and he felt challenged to depict these changes in his paintings. One of the places he visited was Anadoluhisarı, a medieval Ottoman fortress in Constantinople.

Istanbul by Fausto Zonaro

His initial paintings were avidly bought by tourists visiting the great Turkish city. Scenes featuring the daily life of the Turkish people were favourite subjects of tourists and traders in art. However, the money Fausto earned from the sale of his artwork had to be supplemented by Elisa’s earnings.

On the Göksu Deresi (showing Zonaro’s wife Elisabetta) by Fausto Zonaro

Fausto and Elisabetta’s friendship turned to love and in 1892, a year after their arrival in the Turkish city, Fausto and Elisa married and that same year their first child, a son, Fausto Junior, was born. Elisa was also the very important conduit between Fausto and the Western and Eastern aristocracy which led to many painting commissions. Elisa realised that for her husband’s work to be sold at good prices he needed a sales and marketing strategy. She took on the mantle of his publicist and realised that photography would be the medium they would use to sell Fausto’s work. She and their son travelled to Paris to study photography.

The Embarkation by Fausto Zonaro

Elisa returned to Constantinople, equipped with cameras, acids, films, and tanks used for the development of the photographs. She then takes many photographs of Fausto’s artwork and sends them to the major art newspapers in the world. The media was excited with what they received and the popular German journal, the Illustrirte Zeitung in Leipzig used a photograph of Fausto Zonaro’s painting, The Auctioneer on its front cover. This was excellent publicity for Zonaro as the newspaper was read in the living rooms of all the European Embassies in Constantinople, and soon many foreign ambassadors became interested in his work. Portraiture and landscape commissions flowed in. The Ambassador of Russia, Alexander Nelidov, even provided Fausto with a hall in the Russian Embassy where he would open a painting school which was attended by a good part of the Western aristocracy present in Constantinople such as Ambassadors, noblewomen, and ladies of the upper bourgeoisie even members of the Sultan’s court.

*Imperial Regiment of Ertogrul on the Galata Bridge by Fausto Zonaro (1896)*

Alexsandr Nelidov helped Zonaro in another but very important way when he presented him to the Turkish ruler, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, when Zonaro’s showed him his latest painting entitled the Imperial Regiment of Ertogrul on the Galata Bridge which he had completed in 1896. The painting depicts the Ertogrul Cavalry Regiment, the Imperial Guard, dressed in their smart dark blue coats, pants and tarbush or ‘fez’ was the basis of the Ottoman uniform for 40 years. Zonaro had made many preliminary sketches of the troops before combining them into this large painting which is awash with detail. The regiment was named after Ertuğrul Bey who was the father of Osman I the founder of the Ottoman Empire.

Mehmed II at the Siege of Constantinopole by Fausto Zonaro

Mehmed II Entering Constantinople by Fausto Zonaro

The Sultan then commissioned a series of paintings from Zonaro depicting events in the life of the 15th-century Ottoman sultan, Mehmed II. Zonaro was proud of the fact that as court painter he had followed earlier great painters who held that position, such as Gentile Bellini. Life in Constantinople came to an end in 1909 following the Young Turk Revolution, which wished to see Abdul Hamid’s regime dismantled and reintroduce the Constitution. The deposal of the sultan ended the position of court painter and Zonaro was out of work.

Galata Bridge Istanbul by Fausto Zonaro

Zonaro, and his wife left Turkey and moved to Italy where they settled down in San Remo. Zonaro started to rebuild his life and organises exhibitions throughout Liguria and the French Riviera. The subject of his later works was the Italian and French Rivieras as well as depictions of Constantinople and the Bosphorus which reminded him of happier times. In 1920 Zonaro and his wife Elisabetta separated and he went to live with his daughter, Yolanda.

A Young Woman by Fausto Zonaro

Fausto Zonaro died on July 19^th 1929 two months before his seventy-fifth birthday. He was buried in the Foce Cemetery in Sanremo. On his gravestone, beneath an Ottoman tughra, it states that Zonaro was the court painter of the Ottoman Empire

The Veronese Exhibition at the National Gallery, London. Part 2

In art, the hackneyed phrase “size matters” is not relevant as some of the most beautiful works of art are quite small. In my first look at the Veronese exhibition at London’s National Gallery I focused on some of the artist’s monumental works which were on show. In today’s blog I want to look at some of the smaller paintings which were on display at the exhibition.

Mary Magdalen in the Wilderness by Veronese (c. 1585)

The first painting I want to feature is Veronese’s oil on canvas work entitled Mary Magdalene in the Wilderness which he completed around 1585 and is on loan to the exhibition from a private collection in Genoa. The scene is a cave, bathed in moonlight, which is home to Mary Magdalene. Legend had it that after the death of Christ, his resurrection and finally his ascension into heaven, she, along with her brothers Lazarus and Maximin, fled the Holy Land in a rudder-less boat and one without a sail and landed at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue near the city of Arles. From there she went to Marseille before living for thirty years in a cave in the Saint Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume Mountains. According to legend, during her self-imposed exile, she went on a strict period of fasting and that but for occasional visits by the angels, and the comfort bestowed by celestial visions, she might have died. The only food she received was the Holy Eucharist which was given to her by angels.

In the painting, we see Mary Magdalene leaning back against a shelf as she converses with the angel who has descended to offer her a modicum of comfort. Veronese has retained her youth and beauty despite what would have been her real age. She is depicted as being semi-naked although she attempts to cover up her nakedness with her hair and diaphanous clothing. Her legs are bare and her breast is exposed and this portrayal of her is probably meant to remind us of her previous immoral life. Look at the shelf behind her. On it we can just make out a number of items. There is an alabaster jar which is the traditional attribute of Mary Magdalene, reminding us of the jar of very expensive aromatic oil, pure nard, with which she anointed the feet of Christ. Also on the ledge there is a skull and an hour glass, both Vanitas symbols alluding to the passage of time and the inevitability of death. Propped up against the skull is a crucifix reminding us of the death of Christ which Mary Magdalene witnessed first-hand.

It is thought that the painting, which was purchased around 1736 by the Doria family, was enlarged during the eighteenth century so that it fitted snugly within decorated plasterwork of one of the rooms of their Strada Nuovo palace in Genoa.

The Finding of Moses by Veronese (c.1580)

My next featured work is one entitled The Finding of Moses which Veronese completed around 1580 and is part of the Prado collection in Madrid. This small cabinet-sized painting (57cms x 43cms) is another of his religious works and is based on the Old Testament story (Exodus 2:5-6):

“…Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, ‘This is one of the Hebrews’ children’…”

The painting depicts the moment when the Pharaoh’s daughter, Bithiah, and her ladies-in-waiting have plucked the basket, made of bulrushes and pitch, from the reeds on the edge of the Nile River. The basket was the one in which the baby, Moses had been placed by his Hebrew mother, Jochebed, in order to save him from the slaughter of all male Hebrew children ordered by the Egyptian Pharaoh.

Although this obviously a religious work it has secular connotations and this secularising of the work made it one of Veronese’s most popular subjects. He completed many versions of this depiction, some small like this one, others much larger. This painting has combined the pomp and ceremony often seen in secular works with a story from the bible. The Pharoah’s daughter and her royal attendants are lavishly dressed in sumptuous gowns. Bithiah, as the Pharoah’s daughter, is the most lavishly dressed in stunning orange and white damask gown. To her left is one of her attendants, dressed in blue, holding a blanket ready to wrap up the baby who is being cradled by another attendant who can be seen crouching down with Moses in her arms. The background at the left of painting depicts a river flowing through a large town and is crossed by a bridge. This could well be based on city of Verona, which has many bridges straddling the fast-flowing Adige River.

In the left foreground we see one of her black servants holding the basket which had once carried the baby down river. To the right of the painting Veronese has included a dwarf in the company of the women. Dwarves were often present at 16th century European courts and depicted in paintings of the time. It is thought that this version of the painting was commissioned by Marquis and Marchioness della Torre of Veneto. Its emergence in Spain dates to the 1666 inventory of the Alcázar of Madrid.

Portrait of a Lady 'La Bella Nani' by Veronese (c. 1560) — Portrait of a Lady ‘La Bella Nani’ by Veronese (c. 1560)

My third offering is a portrait which Veronese completed around 1560. It is entitled Portrait of a Lady, ‘La Bella Nani’ and this work is considered to be Veronese’s greatest stand-alone female portrait. Venetian portraiture of Venetian courtesans was very popular at this time with works by the Italian painter of the Venetian school, Palma Vechio, the Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance, Paris Bordone and Titian. This portrait by Veronese was often likened to Titian’s 1536 work entitled La Bella. In both these paintings the female sitter exudes a sense of opulence by the sumptuous and expensive clothes they wear. Veronese’s woman is standing with her left hand spreading her gossamer veil whilst her right hand is at her breast. Her hair is set tightly, and bejewelled with pearls. She wears a velvet dress which is deep ultramarine in colour and has gold epaulets; The colour of the dress was originally blue although over time sunlight has caused the painting to darken and the beautiful ultramarine dress seems black with just a hint of blue woven in. Veronese’s clever and complex layer of glazes makes the expensive material of the dress shimmer in the light. Her make-up is perfect with rouge on her cheeks she wears an assortment of jewellery, including a large gold piece hanging at her waist. Her wrists are adorned with gold bracelets, on her fingers there are gold rings and around her neck we see a string of pearls. The combination of the jewellery and clothes transforms her into what we would now term a fashion idol. As was the case with Titian’s female, we do not know who the sitter for Veronese’s portrait was but it will almost certainly be a female member of the Venetian aristocracy.

Whereas Titian’s woman looks out at us in a somewhat provocative manner, the female in the Veronese’s portrait has a somewhat restrained look as she averts her eyes from the observer. There is a look of sadness in her expression as she stares into the distance. She seems lost in thought and somewhat troubled. She does not seem to be at ease and maybe was a reluctant model, who has had to acquiesce to her husband’s demand that she should have her portrait painted. Her status as a married woman is confirmed by the ring she wears on her left hand. She looks tired and there are lines around her eyes. There is a vulnerability about this woman which makes us question whether wealth has given her all that she desired.

This painting by Paolo Veronese hangs at the Louvre and is in the same room as Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting, Mona Lisa and one of Veronese’s monumental works, Wedding at Cana. The question as to whether she is a wife of an aristocrat is questioned by the curators of the Louvre who believe it could just be an idealised portrait of a woman by Veronese bringing together all the attributes that make for a beautiful woman. Their view is quite simple:

“…The figure is in fact a depiction of all the criteria of beauty sought after in Venice at the time: blond hair, a pearly complexion and radiance, as well as sweetness of character, reserve, or the quasi-shyness appropriate to any married woman…”

The Dream of Saint Helena by Veronese (c.1570) National Gallery, London

My final offerings are a pair of paintings by Veronese based on the dream of Saint Helena. One is housed at the National Gallery, London whist the other can be found in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, in Rome. The Dream of Saint Helena in the National Gallery was completed around 1570 and the Vatican painting of the same name was thought to have been completed by the artist five or six years later. The story behind the depiction tells of the Flavia Julia Helena, the Empress mother of Constantine the Great, receiving a visitation from an angel in her dream. The angel tells Helena that she should leave home, travel to the Holy Land in search of the relic of the true cross on which Christ was crucified. She set off for Palestine in 326AD on a part spiritual part diplomatic visit on behalf of her son Constantine and, after a two year search, found the cross. Since then, the imagery of the saint has always been associated with the relics of the cross.

In Carlo Ridolphi’s seventeenth century book, La Maraviglie dell’Arte, he talks about a painting of Saint Helena in the house of the Contarini family of Padua. Of the painting, he states:

“… a scene of Saint Helena, who while sleeping dreams of a vision of the Cross held by two angels, that saintly queen nursing such a saintly thought in her mind, even though she was resting…”

We can see by looking at the two works, only the one which is housed in London’s National Gallery has a depiction of two angels and so this could well be the work which Ridolphi was talking about.

Veronese, with great skill, depicts the dream of Saint Helena in the National Gallery painting by separating the work into two distinct areas. The foreground represents the “here and now” and in it we see Saint Helena, eyes closed, asleep on a window seat with her head supported by her right hand and her right elbow resting on the window sill. The view through the square window is the space which depicts the dream scene and in her dreams she sees two angels struggling to hold a very heavy and substantial wooden cross. It is a somewhat bare composition but the inclusion of Saint Helena lends an elegance to the depiction. The colours Veronese has used for Helena’s gown are fairly subdued, albeit the cool greens on one hand and the warm golds, rich pinks and oranges, on the other, harmonise perfectly. Look how Veronese has cleverly highlighted the garment with flecks and whirls of white and examine carefully the way he has skilfully depicted the folds of Helena’s gown.

The Dream of Saint Helena by Veronese (c. 1580) Pinacoteca Vaticana

In the Vatican’s Dream of Saint Helena we see Helena seated in a luxurious palace location. This work is completely different to the starkness and sparseness of the London version. In this painting the background consists of a decorated wall covering. To the left there is a fluted column and behind the chair is a bronze statue. Veronese’s depiction of her in this painting is one of an opulently dressed empress. She wears a glorious brocade dress with a red mantle. A jewelled crown sits atop her head. She is seated asleep in a chair, and once again, as in the London painting, her head is supported by her hand. In the right foreground we see the rear view of an angel who appears to be walking into the picture dragging along a large wooden cross. This is the vision Saint Helena is dreaming about and through Veronese’s two depictions we are privy to that dream.

In my next blog I am staying with Veronese and looking at a painting which was 42 ft (1280 cms) wide was far too large to be transported to London. It was a painting which combined a secular scene with a religious story and by so doing fell afoul of the Inquisition. His inquisitors were not amused!

The Veronese Exhibition at the National Gallery, London – Part 1.

Today’s blog came in to being thanks to Lady Luck. Last week I went to London for two days. The first day was spent with my daughter and her new baby leaving the second day free for me to roam around some art galleries. It was March 19^th and that was the day of the opening of the Veronese exhibition at the National Gallery. I hadn’t planned my visit to coincide with that day and anyway, I had already checked on the internet to find, not unexpectedly, that I could not book tickets to the exhibition on its opening day. However I decided to visit the gallery when it opened to see what literature they had regarding the exhibition and I was very surprised, but delighted, to be told that I could buy a ticket to visit the exhibition there and then. I jumped at the offer. It was a superb exhibition spread over seven rooms filled with the most magnificent paintings. In my next two blogs, I want to feature some of my favourite works which were on display and look at the background to the depictions, in the hope that I can tempt you to visit this exceptional exhibition.

The Family of Darius before Alexander by Veronese (1565-7)

The first painting I want you to look at was one Palo Veronese completed around 1567. It is entitled The Family of Darius before Alexander. Veronese received the commission for this work from Francesco Pisani, the bishop of Ostia and a patron of the arts, for his residence Palazzo Pisani in Montagnana. It is thought that this monumental work, which measures 236cms x 475cms (approximately 7.5ft x 16.5ft), was hung high up on the wall of the main room (probably the only room which could accommodate such a large work) on the piano nobile, the main floor of the house. Its positioning meant that observers had to look up at the painting and from that viewpoint the depiction of the characters must have been amazing.

The event that is depicted in this work features Alexandra the Great and his first encounter with the abandoned womenfolk of the defeated Persian king, Darius III. The meeting was written about by many Roman and Greek scholars and this work by Veronese was probably based on the writings of Valerius Maximus, a 1^st century Roman historian. It is an account of what happened following the Hellenic leader, Alexander the Great’s victory over the Persian army, led by Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333BC. Although far outnumbered by the Persians, Alexander’s troops won the battle and Darius, rather than be killed fled the battlefield abandoning his family and his troops. Although it may seem strange that the female members of the royal family were at the battle but it was the custom for royal Persian women to accompany their father/husband while they went to war. When Darius made a hasty retreat from the battlefield, without a care for his family, his mother, wife and children were then captured by Alexander. Darius later wrote a number of letters to his conqueror asking for the return of his family but Alexander would not agree unless Darius acknowledged him as the new Emperor of Persia.

In the meantime the female captives, Darius’mother Sisigambis, his wife Stateira and their two daughters, Stateira II and Drypteis were abandoned. In the painting we see the four women meeting Alexander and his friend Hephaestion for the first time. The four women at the centre of the painting are Darius’s family and they have approached Alexander asking for mercy. Behind them stand their servants and a dwarf. On the right we see Alexander, who is dressed in red, standing next to Hephaestion. In between the two parties is an elderly man, dressed in blue, who is introducing the women to Alexander. It is thought that this figure is a portrait of Veronese’s patron, Francesco Pisani. The story of the event tells of the Darius’ mother initially mistaking Hephasteion for Alexander and in the painting we can see Alexander pointing to his friend who has stepped back in surprise at Sisigambis’ mis-identification.

For most of the characters in this tale, all ended well. Alexander married Darius’s daughter Stateira II, whilst his other daughter Drypteis became the wife of Hephasteion. Sadly all didn’t end well for Darius III who, after the defeat, was assassinated by one of his satraps (governors), Bessus, who then pronounced himself King of Kings of the Persian Empire. He was later captured and executed on the orders of Alexander for his crime, regicide.

Veronese’s depiction of the scene arranges the figures gracefully across the surface of the painting, and with the exception of Alexander who wears classical armour, the protagonists are sumptuously dressed in modern fashion. Veronese chose an outdoor setting for the meeting with its classical architecture similar to what he saw in his home town Verona.

The Martyrdom of Saint George by Veronese (c. 1565)

The second work I am featuring is one Veronese completed around 1565 and is entitled The Martyrdom of St George. It is a colossal work measuring 431cms x 300 cms (approximately14ft high x 10ft wide). Veronese was probably commissioned to paint this for the high altar of San Giorgio in Braida, a Roman Catholic church in Verona, by the Venetian architect Michele Sanmicheli.

To set the scene I rely on a passage from Carlo Ridolfi, the Italian art biographer, 1648 book entitled Le Maraviglie dell’Arte, (The Marvels of Art) in which he describes the work:

“…in the church of San Giorgio Paolo painted for the high altar the saintly knight on his knees, stripped by henchman, persuaded by priests to offer incense to the idol Apollo, his face reveals an unvanquished soul, unafraid of the tyrant’s threats, strengthened by seeing the Virgin flanked by the Theological Virtues in the sky…”

In the painting we are not seeing the actual gruesome death of Saint George, who was a Roman soldier, but the lead up to his martyrdom. The scene has an architectural background and the it is framed by two armoured horseman who enter the painting at the extreme left and right of the work. Amongst the people we see a couple of men with turbans and a black page boy which gives a Middle Eastern feel to the setting and Veronese may have decided on this as legend had it that the martyrdom of St George took place on April 23^rd 303AD in the town of Nicomedia, which is now the north-west Turkish town of Izmit. High up on the extreme left of the painting we see the statue of Apollo which St George has been asked to worship. Behind the statue is the unfurled Roman standard with its acronym in golden letters, S.P.Q.R., derived from the Latin phrase:

Senatus Populusque Romanus, (The Senate and People of Rome)

St George, who is kneeling on the ground, is stripped of his armour, which lies before him on the ground. He is now bare-chested. Look at Veronese’s portrayal of the saint. Look how he has lovingly depicted the saint’s face with a look of kindness which is in direct contrast to the way he has depicted the harsh and ugly faces of the priest and executioner. Behind St George is the priest dressed in a maroon cloak and cowl. He leans towards his prisoner and points to the statue of Apollo and asks St George for the final time to worship the God, Apollo, and by so doing, saving his own life. To the right of, and behind St George, we see the executioner. He is eagerly awaiting the priest decision. The executioner has drawn his sword from its scabbard which he hands back to one of his henchmen. Another man ties the hands of St George. St George is unmoved by the threat and can be seen looking up to the heavens where he sees a vision of St Peter and Saint Paul, who sit either side of the Virgin and Child. Below them are the three virtues, Faith Hope and Charity. Hope, like the Virgin, look down on the soon to be executed St George. Below them we see a small angel heading downwards to St George holding a wreath and palm branch, which are symbols of martyrdom.

It is a very moving scene and one can just imagine the painting in place at the high altar. The observer would have had to look upwards over the altar towards the painting. The observer’s eyes would then catch a glimpse of St George and follow the upward direction he is focusing on, towards Heaven and the Virgin Mary. The painting which is housed in the Roman Catholic church of San Giorgio in Braida in Verona was trucked over to London for the exhibition.

The third painting I am showcasing is another monumental work, measuring 242cms x 416cms (approximately 8ft x 14ft). It is Supper at Emmaus and this often painted scene was completed by Veronese around 1555. The depiction based on the biblical story portrays the moment when the risen Christ, having comes across two of his disciples, thought to be Luke and Cleopas, on the road to Emmaus, joins them for supper. We see Christ at the head of the table being served by the servant whilst at the opposite end of the table sit Cleopas and Luke who have just realised the identity of their fellow diner. This supper scene has been depicted in paintings by all the great Italian painters, such as Caravaggio, Titian, and Tintoretto as well as other European artists such as Durer, Rembrandt, Velazquez and Jordaens. However this painting of the Emmaus Supper by Veronese incorporates into the scene a group family portrait. There are three men, who maybe brothers, a woman, ten children and an infant in the arms of the woman. They are all dressed in contemporary 16th costumes. It could be that is a family who has commissioned the work. Where the work was to be hung is unknown but thought to be in the main hall of one of the new Venetian palaces.

The combination of the biblical scene with a secular scene works well and there is a lavishness about the secular depiction giving it a grand and stately appearance. There is an element of humour about the depiction as we look down below the supper table at the two young girls who play with the large dog. To the left, in the background, we witness a prelude to the supper as we see the two disciples with Christ as they make their way through the countryside to the village of Emmaus and the inn.

It is interesting to note that Veronese liked adding ordinary people into religious scenes and liked to incorporate his love of richness and ornamental embellishment in his religious works as in this painting. However, it was to get him into trouble with the Inquisition, who viewed the combining of secular and religious depictions into another of his painting in which, according to them, he had crowded “irrelevant and irreverent” figures into the work. They took a dim view of it and they looked upon it as a sign of disrespect towards the Catholic Church. I will tell you more about that painting in another blog.

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Paolo Veronese (c. 1572)

My final offering today is another religious painting by Veronese, which again has been the subject for many of the great painters, such as Caravaggio and Gerard David. It is based on a passage from the New Testament (Matthew 2:13-15) which is a follow-on from the story of the three magi who had brought gifts to the newborn child, and had now departed:

^“…When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son….”

During their flight the Holy Family stopped for a rest and it is at their resting place that the various artists have depicted the scene. Veronese completed his painting entitled The Rest on the Flight into Egypt around 1572. We see Joseph sitting next to Mary who cradles the Christ Child. They are all in need of sustenance but had nothing to eat or drink. They sit in a palm grove, in the shade of a palm tree, which is emblematic of martyrdom. It is laden with dates but they are too high up for them to reach. Joseph’s water canteen is empty and they have nothing to drink. Then a miracle occurs. The tree bends downwards and we see one young angel dropping down dates whilst another gathers them up to give to the Holy Family to eat, whilst the Virgin Mary nurses the Christ Child. A spring of water appears below them allowing Joseph to re-fill his canteen. Behind the couple is an ass and to the right of the picture there is an ox, a reference to the animals at the manger when the Child was born in Bethlehem. Another young angel can be seen in the left of the painting, spreading out the baby’s clothes on a branch so they would dry.

Light filters through the leaves of the palm trees and in the background to the right the sky is the most beautiful blue. This colour used by Veronese for the skies and clothes in some of his paintings is truly breathtaking and it is what struck me most about his work. In this work, this beautiful rich blue colour is used again for the cloak of the Virgin Mary. Below the sky line in the right of the painting we see ancient buildings and obelisks which are meant to signify the far off land of Egypt, the country to which the couple are heading. It is a truly beautiful work of art.

In my next blog I will look at some more of Veronese’s paintings which were on show at the exhibitions, including some of his smaller works.

Rebecca and Eleazar at the Well by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

Rebecca and Elizear at the Well by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (c.1740)

Today I am returning to Italy for My Daily Art Display painting. It is a painting based on a biblical tale and one that features the work of the Venetian rococo painter of religious subjects, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. Piazzetta was born in Venice in 1682. His father, Giacomo was a sculptor, and he gave his son his first artistic tuition, concentrating on wood sculpture. Starting in 1697, at the age of fifteen Giovanni started studying painting under the auspices of the painter Antonio Molinari, an Italian artist of the Baroque era of Venice. Later in his early twenties he went to Bologna and studied under Giuseppe Mari Crespi, another Baroque painter, who was part of the Bolognese School of painting. The Bolognese School of painting thrived in this capital city of Emilia Romagna during the 16^th and 17^th centuries and was considered the equal of Florence and Rome as the perceived centre of Italian painting. It was probably Crespi who persuaded Piazzetta to take up genre subjects. Piazzetta remained in Bologna for two years and was influenced by the works of another Bolognese artist, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, who was the cross-eyed painter and who was better known by his nickname, Guernico, which in Italian means ‘squinter’! Guernico was renowned for his religious paintings and altarpieces, with their rich colours and dramatic storytelling and his influence can be seen in some of Piazzetta’s own religious works. Today’s featured painting is a great example of this aspect of his work.

Piazzetta returned to Venice in 1710 but struggled somewhat to get commissions in comparison with his artistic contemporary, Sebastiano Ricci and the young “newcomer on the block” Giovanni Tiepolo, who had both begun to corner the market with their popular late Baroque/Rococo works. However Piazzetta supplemented his income by illustrating books. His presentation drawings, portraits, and character heads, usually made in charcoal or white chalk, were also in wide demand from discerning collectors. He was a slow worker, and often painted the same subject several times with subtle modifications. He was a perfectionist. In 1750 Piazzetta became the first director of the newly founded Venice Academy of Fine Arts, which was established by the Senate and included courses of Academy Figure, Portrait, Landscape and Sculpture. He devoted himself in the last few years of his life to teaching and although never wealthy he was always admired for his art work. He died in Venice on April 28, 1754, aged 72.

My Daily Art Display featured painting today is by Piazzetta and is entitled Rebecca and Eleazar at the Well. He completed this oil on canvas painting around 1740 and was one I saw when I visited the Brera Gallery in Milan. As I said at the beginning, this painting is based on the Old Testament story in the Book of Genesis, (Chapter24). For those of you are unfamiliar with the story let me give you a précis of the biblical tale.

Abraham who was well advanced in years, had a son named Isaac and wanted to find a good wife for him. He spoke to his trusted servant Eleazar and said:

“…Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac…”

The servant Eleazar was concerned that the woman he chose for Abraham’s son would not want to come back with him and asked why he could not choose a local girl instead, but Abraham would have none of that idea and eased the mind of his servant:

“ … The servant said to him, ‘Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?’ Abraham said to him, ‘See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter…”

And so Eleazar set off on his quest and he later relates the meeting with Rebekah:

“…Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water…”

So Eleazar had reached the well but was now concerned about how he would decide which woman he should choose for the wife-to-be of Isaac:

“…And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known…”

Then Rebecca’s brother and mother came to Eleazar, who was standing at the well:

“…Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.” When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord. And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments…”

So it is at this point of the story that we can now look at today’s painting in which Piazzetta pictorially displays the meeting at the well of Eleazar, Abraham’s servant and messenger and Rebekah (Rebecca), Isaac’s future wife. The characters in the painting are dressed in fashionable eighteenth century clothes. Eleazar, dressed in brown with a rose-coloured sash around his waist, holds the jewellery which he is offering to Rebecca who clutches to her side a pitcher of water. She looks slightly taken aback at the offering. The half-figure composition painted with a light and luminous palette could almost be a pastoral scene with the cattle, camel and a dog squeezed into the left of the painting.

This meeting between Eleazar and Rebecca was the subject of many paintings including ones by Tiepolo, Poussin and Murillo. However of the ones I have looked at I believe the painting by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta is the best.