Description

David Rosand's Paolo Veronese is a masterly account of the Venetian painter's artistic achievement, demonstrating a complete command of the literature and scholarly issues, insightful interpretations of individual paintings and drawings, and a marvelously elegant prose style. Rosand's reading of each painting judiciously considers how Veronese brought his pictorial intelligence to bear on the formal qualities of his work to create his own personal rhetoric of visual expression, one that embodies the "dignity and nobility of painting" and resonates with viewers and readers today. Rosand's arguments are not solely visual, however, but are buttressed by extensive quotations from scripture and textual sources. The author synthesizes decades of research and careful reflection, refining his own approaches, which have themselves stood the test of time. Careful readings of specific paintings, including the celebrated Wedding Feast at Cana, the frescoes at the Villa Barbaro, and the church of San Sebastiano, where Rosand played an integral part in the recent restoration by Save Venice Inc., are all accompanied by lavish illustrations, providing the reader the opportunity to put into practice the author's conviction that our own responses to paintings will guide their interpretation.