But Veronese was no longer young; he had entered well into the fifties; yet nothing in his craftsmanship betrayed fatigue or waning powers. A genius almost unique, he went steadily forward and no one could say of him, in the presence of his latest productions, what has so often been said of other illustrious painters: “That is a work of his old age!” Veronese had the rare privilege of remaining young to the end.
One day, while following a procession on foot, Veronese contracted a cold, and after a brief illness he died. His obsequies took place in the parish church of San Samuele, April 19, 1588. On that day he would have completed his sixtieth year.
When we remember that, up to the eve of his death, Veronese continued to paint with as steady a hand as at the age of twenty, his death seems premature, and it is only natural to deplore that this matchless artist should have failed to obtain the ripe age of Titian. What masterpieces he might still have painted!
Such as they are, brilliant and luxuriant, his works remain the most abundant that have ever come from the palette of any one painter, and Veronese stands lastingly, in the history of Art, as the most amazing of all masters, both in colour and in composition.
PLATE VIII.—THE VISION OF ST. HELENA
(In the National Gallery, London)
This picture has often been attributed to Zelotti, who was a friend and at one time a collaborator of Veronese. But the composition, the colouring, the finish of detail, and the sumptuousness of decoration betray the hand of the immortal author of the Wedding at Cana.
