Pictures Every Child Should Know: A Selection of the World's Art Masterpieces for Young PeopleBacon, Mary Schell Hoke
General
Pictures Every Child Should Know: A Selection of the World's Art Masterpieces for Young People
Bacon, Mary Schell Hoke
Art -- Juvenile literature; Painters -- Juvenile literature; Painting -- Juvenile literature
There is very little known of the private affairs of Veronese. He
signed a contract for painting the "Marriage at Cana," for the
refectory of the monastery of St. Giorgio Maggiore, in June 1562, and
that picture, stupendous as it is, was finished eighteen months
later. He received $777.60 for it, as well as his living while he was
at work upon it, and a tun of wine. One picture he is supposed to have
left behind him at a house where he had been entertained, as an
acknowledgment of the courtesy shown him.
Paul had a brother, Benedetto, ten years younger than himself, and it
is said that he greatly helped Paul in his work, by designing the
architectural backgrounds of his pictures. If that is so, Benedetto
must have been an artist of much genius, for those backgrounds in the
paintings are very fine.
Veronese married, and had two sons; the younger being named
Carletto. He was also the favourite, and an excellent artist, who did
some fine painting, but he died while he was still young. Gabriele the
elder son, also painted, but he was mainly a man of affairs, and
attended to business rather than to art.
Veronese was a loving father and brother, and beyond doubt a happy
man. After his death both his sons and his brother worked upon his
unfinished paintings, completing them for him. He was buried in the
Church of St. Sebastian.
PLATE--THE MARRIAGE AT CANA
This painting is most characteristic of Veronese's methods. He has no
regard for the truth in presenting the picture story. At the marriage
at Cana everybody must have been very simply dressed, and there could
have been no beautiful architecture, such as we see in the picture. In
the painting we find courtier-like men and women dressed in beautiful
silks. Some of the costumes appear to be a little Russian in
character, the others Venetian; and Jesus Himself wears the loose
every-day robe of the pastoral people to whom he belonged. We think of
luxury and rich food and a splendid house when we look at this
painting, when as a matter of fact nothing of this sort could have
belonged to the scene which Veronese chose to represent. Perhaps no
painter was more lacking in imagination than was Veronese in painting
this particular picture. He chose to place historical or legendary
characters, in the midst of a scene which could not have existed
co-incidently with the event.
Among his other pictures are "Europa and the Bull," "Venice
Enthroned," and the "Presentation of the Family of Darius to
Alexander."
XLIII
LEONARDO DA VINCI
(Pronounced Lay-o-nar'do dah Veen'chee)
_Florentine School_
1451-1519
_Pupil of Verrocchio_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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