The Feast in the House of Levi. Paolo Veronese | English

Give your name. Paolo Collieri. Do you know why you've been summoned to the court of the Holy Inquisition? No, Holy Father. Can't you even presume? Probably because my appearance here is connected with the fact that I was commissioned to paint Mary Magdalene instead of a dog, but I think it would be inappropriate. This dialogue might have taken place on the 18th of July, 1573. On that day, according to the Chronicles, the Inquisitor of Venice was summoned to interrogate the artist Paolo Collieri, nicknamed Veronese, concerning his picture, The Feast in the House of Levi. The painter from Verona, Paolo Veronese, was reputed as the poet of joy and of festive Venice. On his canvases, Supper in Emus, Feast in Simon's House, Marriage in Galleon Cairns, Veronese depicted sumptuous tipsy meals in the Venice palazzos with a great number of characters. What picture are you speaking about? I, Holy Father, painted The Last Supper of Jesus Christ and His Apostles for the dining room of the monastery of St. John and St. Paul. But why are there so many other people in the picture? Who are they? They are servants. They serve food and drinks to the guests. Why does one of the servants have his nose broken? An accident. The poor thing must have missed a step on the staircase while carrying a tray. Why is the butler gesticulating so energetically? Holy Father, he drank a lot. And what about the man with the parrot? The man who is dressed up like a clown? Why did you paint him? And the dark-skinned boy? And the guards with the halberd? There are a lot of figures in the picture. I cannot recall all of them. How can I justify myself? Oh yes, I remember. I had to paint a large-sized picture and I decided to fill the empty space with different figures of my own imagination. Portraying the Lord's Supper was a favorite plot of the Venice painters in the middle of the 16th century. Churches and monasteries were likely to compete with each other, commissioning monumental pictures to great masters. When The Last Supper by Titian got burned in the monastery of St. John and Paul, Veronese was commissioned to paint a new picture of the same theme. But the artist treated a traditional biblical plot freely and lightheartedly. And now, in the face of the Inquisition, he had to justify himself for distorting the content of the Gospel text to satisfy the Reformation ideas, and it meant defending himself against the official Church. Who is depicted next to Jesus? St. Peter. And what is he doing? He's cutting the roast lamb to distribute it to the guests. Do you think it was St. Peter, not Jesus, who did that? It's strange, very strange. And what is the other apostle doing? He's picking his teeth with a fork. Do you think that everything was exactly this way during The Last Supper? Veronese realized himself that he had created not so much an illustration of the biblical plot, but more a picture of Venice life, beautiful, sumptuous, free and joyful. The festive atmosphere is emphasized by the splendid architecture of the Renaissance epic. The tables with food are placed on the three-level balcony. One can see marble palaces and towers directed high in the air through the bay openings of the arches. The noisy and relaxed guests are wearing smart costumes in the 16th century fashion, and only the main characters are depicted in the traditional attire. It looks like Veronese ignored the correspondence to historical truth. He wanted everything in his pictures to be beautiful and joyful. So you think that everything was exactly that way during The Last Supper, or are you only guided by your own imagination without any righteousness? I was painting my picture with due respect. I thought I had painted it well. But do you consider it to be inappropriate to depict dwarves, jesters and drunkards and other similar indecencies? Your picture is infected with heresy. But I believed I had painted it well. Then even that does not waste words. The Holy Tribunal is announcing its verdict. Paolo Veronese must correct the picture at his own expense according to the true virtue and orders of the Holy Inquisition. Veronese submitted to the requirements of the Holy Inquisition. He corrected the picture, but without a single stroke of the brush. The artist changed the name The Last Supper for another one, The Feast in the House of Levi. Veronese presented his creation as an illustration of another biblical story. And Levi offered him a big feast in his house. I suppose that I had painted the picture well. After all, we painters enjoy the same liberties as poets and the insane. Having respect for the traditions, we glorify the beauty of the world and we have power to create an elegant, relaxed, easy and joyful manner.