Exhibition - Veronese: Magnificence in Renaissance Venice

The Conversion of Mary Magdalene - Veronese

I have always considered Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) to be overshadowed by his two great contemporaries, Titian and Tintoretto, so it was a pleasant surprise to enter the first room of the current exhibition at the National Gallery, mercifully situated in the main body of the building under natural light rather than in the neon claustrophobia of the Sainsbury Wing, and find myself completely bowled over. I realized then that in order to be fully appreciated Veronese’s work needs to be viewed as part of a one man exhibition rather than hiding in a corner of a mixed gallery as I had previously seen it.

The cover of the press brochure shows a detail from a magnificent canvas depicting the Conversion of Mary Magdalene. This story is nowhere to be found in the Bible, but none the less riveting, as the fallen woman, glorious in her silken gown, sinks to her knees in awe at her first sight of Jesus while her pearl and ruby necklace, the symbol of her misspent youth, shatters and slides down her alabaster décolletage.

Subsequent rooms reveal further treasures, but while his male portraits are at times a bit beefy and dull, his females, be they Christian saints, pagan goddesses or showgirls emit a peculiar translucence which owes less to their natural charms than his unmatched depiction of their gowns and jewellery, particularly the ubiquitous pearls that so beautifully highlight their pale skins and uniformly golden hair.

Also of interest are the occasions where two identical subjects, interpreted completely differently, are placed side by side. To my mind the 1570 Dream of St Helena from the National Gallery is eclipsed entirely by the 1575, infinitely grander version from the Vatican, while the Metropolitan Museum’s Mars and Venus United by Love appears positively insipid beside the later version from the Galleria Sabauda, Turin.

I would have liked more information about some of the obscure religious subjects and definitely a greater variety of postcards, but this is a magnificent exhibition that undoubtedly merits more than one viewing.

Veronese: Magnificence in Renaissance Venice continues at the National Gallery until 18 June 2014.

For more information see: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/veronese-magnificence-in-renaissance-venice