Veronese's paintings have enjoyed great popularity up to the present day, with a reputation for exquisite technical skill reflected in intricately detailed depictions of dress patterns and the human body. But critics have long neglected the subtler aspect of Veronese's work, a virtuosity as storyteller that inspired many of his religious paintings with great narrative force. This comprehensive study of Veronese examines every stage in his career,from the first major fresco cycles at the church of St Sebastiano in Venice and the decorations at the Villa Maser through to his last work at the Doge's Palace, and highlights the wealth of motifs and techniques that were to be of formative importance to the Pre-Raphaelites.

...

Paolo Caliari was born in 1528 (the name Veronese refers to the city of his birth) and followed the example of the great artists of his time by making his career in the city of Venice,where he is first documented in 1555. Veronese soon established himself through commissions to redecorate the rooms of the Council of Ten in the Ducal Palace, a project that won him the favour of the Venetian patriciate. His art reflects both the splendour of Venice and the social mores of the Counter-reformation, with a mastery of trompe l'oeil that influenced the great decorative painters of the Baroque age.By the early 1580's, Veronese was in such great demand as to decline a commission from Philip II of Spain, and is known, as with Bellini, to have signed paintings produced entirely by his workshop, testifying to the power of his name.

With more than 60 colour plates and detailed notes on all reproductions, Veronese is the essential introduction to a painter of seminal importance to the development of Italian Art in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.