There are few painters of whose private life so little is known as of that of Veronese. The contemporary documents have disappeared and scarcely anything more remains than a few of his letters; and even those are silent as to his day-by-day existence. All that it is possible to know—and to this his paintings abundantly bear witness—is that he was possessed of an agreeable humour, and a pleasing personality;—worthy gentleman, somewhat quick of temper and permitting no slight to be put upon his dignity, still less upon his honour. He was neither a sycophant nor a courtier, accepting commissions but never soliciting them. His “disinterestedness,” writes Charles Yriarte, “has remained celebrated; during one entire period of his life, the greater part of the contracts which he signed with communities and with convents stipulate barely the value of his time as a remuneration for his work. This was before the time when painters were expected to furnish their colours and their canvases, but demanded only the price of their toil. Later on, having become, if not rich—that he never was,—at least celebrated and independent, he acquired a taste for personal luxury; he delighted in brilliant fabrics and wore them with ostentation; he loved horses, dogs, and hunting; he frequented high society, and brought to it that Italian open-heartedness which makes the company of the illustrious a relaxation and a pleasure rather than an embarrassment or an effort. He won valuable friendships and was able to retain them until his death.”
Of these friendships, the most efficacious was that of the Prior of the convent of San Sebastiano, Bernardo Torlioni, a Veronese by birth, to whom he had brought letters of introduction. No sooner had young Caliari arrived in Venice at the beginning of 1555, than he presented himself to his venerable compatriot, who promptly took a fancy to him, and bestirred himself to serve him. Thanks to Torlioni, Paolo obtained an order for five pictures, including one large composition, the Coronation of the Virgin and four dependent panels. These paintings were destined to adorn the sacristy of the church of San Sebastiano, of which Bernardo Torlioni was prior. When the work was done, the Chapter expressed itself as so well pleased that it entrusted him with the decoration of the church itself, including the ceiling. It was here that Veronese painted his admirable series of episodes from the History of Esther and Ahasuerus.
The success of this series was so great that the edifice was placed unconditionally in his hands, and he was free to follow his fantasy unhampered. Following a method which was habitual with him, he enhanced the effect of the large panels painted in fresco, by means of smaller intervening scenes in chiaroscuro. Here also one finds him indulging his hobby for architectural painting, such as always occupies a large place in his pictures; all around the church he painted truncated columns, ornamented with arabesques and foliage, “with a richness and a pomp that were already an inseparable feature of his style.”
In the works of Veronese, the accessories always play a highly important part; and it is not difficult to understand the reason. His main object being to delight the eye, he attributed considerable space to vases, furniture, armour, fruits, flowers, graceful draperies, brilliant costumes, mettlesome horses, and more especially dogs, with which it was his special whim to embellish his paintings. The dog was his favourite animal, and even at that epoch its presence was to be noted in every picture.
When the church, completely decorated, was opened to the public, there was general rejoicing; Veronese received the unanimous vote of approval, from the populace as well as from the artists.
From that day forth, the ability of the young painter was openly acknowledged, and his fortune assured. Furthermore, he had arrived in Venice at a propitious hour. It was the moment when the Most Serene Republic, victorious over the seas and surfeited with wealth, attained the zenith of her glory. In her opulence Venice chose to employ her treasures in self-adornment; palaces arose on all sides, the Ducal Palace itself was redecorated; Sansovino was just completing the new Government offices. The wealthy brotherhoods and equally wealthy parishes were seeking out every painter of repute to decorate their churches and their convents.
Accordingly, Veronese had arrived at the crucial moment to satisfy the demands of art. His rivals were negligible: Salviati, Battista Franco, Lo Schiavone, Zelotti, Orazio Vocelli the son of Titian, could none of them hold their own against him. Bordone was at the court of Francis I. Tintoretto alone, at the height of his powers, could counterbalance Veronese’s glory. As to the aged Titian, he was no longer producing pictures with his old-time fertility; furthermore, he had already divined the genius of Veronese and conceived a friendship for him.
And so, throughout thirty-three years, from 1555 to 1588, the masterpieces that were born beneath Veronese’s fingers succeeded one another without interruption. The walls of his adopted city became overspread with his luminous canvases, eloquent of the joyousness of Italy, resplendent with the triumphant beauty of Venice.
Shortly after the decoration of San Sebastiano was completed, Daniele Barbaro, Patriarch of Aquileia and wealthy patrician of Venice, had a splendid residence built him at Masiera by Palladio, a celebrated architect of the period. Being a man of artistic taste, he wished to embellish it with paintings and statues worthy of its imposing architecture. For the sculpture he summoned Alessandro Vittoria; the paintings were entrusted to Paolo Veronese.
The patriarch Barbaro was one of his friends, and accordingly allowed him a free hand, and even left the choice of subjects to him.