A large-scale Mannerist painting depicting the biblical miracle of Jesus turning water into wine. Learn about the history, composition, technique, and symbolism of this masterpiece that hung in a Venetian monastery and was looted by Napoleon. Learn about the history, composition, and symbolism of this monumental painting by Paolo Veronese, a Mannerist master of the 16th century.
The Wedding At Cana depicts a Biblical story of Jesus turning water into wine and features many famous people and architectural elements. Twenty years after The Wedding Feast at Cana, the Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition took an interest in anther painting by Veronese, the Feast in the House of Levi, also commissioned for a Venetian church. The Tribunal considered the presence of a dog inappropriate for a religious painting, and asked him to replace it with a sacred figure.
The Wedding at Cana is his great masterpiece of Biblical art and arguably one of the most 'modern' religious paintings of the cinquecento. The huge work (roughly 22 X 32 feet) was commissioned in 1562 for the refectory, designed by Andrea Palladio (1508-80), in the Benedictine monastery on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. A large-format oil painting that depicts the biblical story of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding feast.
Learn about the commission, the style, the symbolism, and the reception of this Mannerist masterpiece in the Louvre. The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese, exhibited at the Louvre, is a work of art that fascinates and surprises visitors with its enormous size and richness of detail. The painting is displayed in a room that everyone at the Louvre passes through and where, indeed, one probably spends more time as it is the Mona Lisa room.
The Wedding at Cana painting carries profound symbolism beyond the miraculous event it portrays. It serves as a visual feast for the viewers, inviting them to immerse themselves in the luxurious ambiance of the scene and contemplate the deeper spiritual meanings underlying the celebration depicted. Inspiration and Reasons Behind the Painting: The Wedding at Cana is based on the Gospel of John (2:1-11), which recounts Christ's first miracle by transforming water into wine at a wedding in Cana, and this event that is considered as the beginning of Christ's public ministry, was a popular subject in Christian art.
The painting The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese belongs to the late Renaissance artistic style, characterized by attention to detail, use of vibrant colors, and dynamic compositions. The Wedding Feast at Cana is the largest painting in the collection of the Musée du Louvre because of its 67.29 m2 canvas.