Ringling Museum unveils rare works in Paolo Veronese exhibition

As the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art unveils its latest exhibition, Paolo Veronese: A Master and His Workshop in Renaissance Venice, to the public today, stepping through the threshold of the museum’s Searing Wing where the exhibition is housed feels like walking into a visual banquet hall, where only the most decadent and sumptuous of delicacies hang on display for the eyes’ consumption.

Rich colors and sensuous fabrics bring subjects to life on canvas, from large-scale altarpieces to intimate private portraits painted by Veronese, “The Painter of Beautiful Things.” Rare, impeccably preserved textiles from the 16th and 17th century accompany the paintings, several of which are framed by grandiose marble columns from the Ringling’s private collection, as well as other architectural details designed to transform the Searing Wing into a palatial Renaissance estate.

This opulence characterizes the art of the Venetian Renaissance, a movement that was dominated by Veronese and his contemporaries, Titian and Tintoretto, and thrived on the velvet coin purses of wealthy merchants of Venice during Italy’s most prosperous era.

Although the subject matter of Veronese’s work---primarily Biblical allegories and commissioned portraits for wealthy nobles---is familiar to purveyors of Italian Renaissance art, the manner in which exhibition is presented provides unique insight not only into the process of the artist, but into the 16th century Venetian society and the role of art therein.Religious altarpieces designed for communal audiences to meditate upon in church are contrasted by flirtatious scenes borrowed from Greek mythology, commissioned to decorate the private boudoirs of Italian nobles. In another section of the exhibition, engravings by Veronese’s contemporaries, as well as those by artists working centuries after his death, provide insight into the influence of the artist’s work throughout Europe and its place in the history of art.

Rather than designing a textbook exhibition that details Veronese’s career in chronological order, however, Ringling’s Curator of European Art, Dr. Virginia Brilliant, collaborated with Frederick Ilchman, Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, to break the artist’s extensive oeuvre into sections that not only provide perspective on the artist’s diversity, but highlight the “Workshop” theme of the exhibition.

Veronese’s artistic process is documented from first sketch to final product in one section, as is the business model he employed to create his works with the help of assistant painters, providing insight into the evolution of his style in a variety of formats, sizes and media.

“In some ways, I think that Veronese’s business acumen was even more impressive than the art itself,” Ilchman said.

“An artist studio during the Italian Renaissance had a similar business model to that of a fancy restaurant run by a celebrity chef in today’s society. The chef prepares the menus and works with the staff to ensure that the food served in the restaurant represents his house style. The same went for Veronese, who was coordinating a large crew of hired painters, including his own family members, day in and day out, to create these works,” Ilchman explained.The methods with which Veronese replicated and modified similar narrative themes over the course of his career are also documented, as in a particularly insightful section that displays four separate renderings of the Baptism of Christ from different stages in Veronese’s lengthy career---including one book-end homage to his style that was painted by his protégés following his death and reads, “The heirs of Paolo Veronose made this.”

The Ringling Museum is the sole venue for the Veronese exhibition, which contains a collection more comprehensive than any shown in the United States since 1988. Due to the fragile, light-sensitive nature of much of the exhibition material, the four-month opportunity to experience the exhibition before it closes on April 14 is a precious window, as the work will return to safe keeping in storage following its run at the Ringling.

The extensive nature of the collection demands more visits than one, so don’t wait to pay a visit to Ringling to experience the luxurious world of “The Painter of Beautiful Things.” Your eyes deserve a feast.