The feast in Levi's house

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The feast in the house of Levi (Paolo Veronese)
The feast in Levi's house
Paolo Veronese , 1573
Oil on canvas
560 × 1309 cm
Accademia (Venice)

The Banquet in Levi's House ( Convito in casa di Levi ) is an oil painting by the Italian painter Paolo Veronese made in 1573 (dated April 20, 1573) . It is one of the largest canvas paintings of its time.

description

The painting measures 5.6 meters in height and 13.09 meters in width and is therefore slightly larger than Veronese's wedding at Cana from 1562-63 (6.70 × 9.90 m, Louvre , Paris). As in other depictions of the banquet by the artist, the biblical events are set in his own presence in the second half of the 16th century. Almost all persons (except for Jesus and some of his disciples) wear festive robes from the time of origin. The magnificent architectural backdrop of the Renaissance is reminiscent of a stage design . The banquet itself takes place in a loggia which opens to the front and back in three round arches supported by Corinthian columns ; above the arches there are gilded and winged female relief sculptures (angels?). The three-arched structure of the picture is reminiscent of a triptych . In front, towards the viewer, one sees a set of stairs, with two runs on the left and right, on which some people go up or down.

Middle group with Jesus (middle), Johannes, Judas (right), Peter and the high priest (left). Detail from Veronese's Banquet at Levi's House , 1573

In the middle arch in the center of the picture sits Jesus , in pink and blue, from whose head a slight shimmer ( halo ) radiates. The blue and cloudy evening sky opens up above him. Jesus gently leans to the right to his favorite younger Johannes (in red), who still looks very young and seems to be asking him something. To the left of Jesus, the white-bearded Peter uses a bowl. On the right edge of the middle arch, diagonally across from Jesus, on the other side of the table, sits a black-haired, bearded man in the shade who turns to look at a Moor page; this figure is presumably Judas . Opposite to the left, on the left edge of the middle arch, one sees an arrogant and unsympathetic looking elderly gentleman in a long red, hermelin- trimmed robe and red headdress, looking at Judas; this man probably represents a (or the) Jewish high priest .

In addition to Jesus and his disciples spread around the table, numerous other figures populate the picture, especially servants , among whom there are also some Moors . In a small scene in the foreground, one of these black pagans (in pink) tries to stroke a blue parrot , which is held disgusted by a terrifying court dwarf in an orange fool . The elegant bearded gentleman in green behind it is believed by some authors to be a self-portrait of Veronese - but this assumption is not certain. On the flight of stairs to the right you can see two mercenaries or guards , one of whom is drinking from a glass of wine. Several servants on the far left are identified as Orientals by turbans . The only female figures are a little girl (or a dwarf?) In the front right and some spectators in the palace in the background on the left. All these figures are shown in motion and with great naturalness and lifelike quality, communicate with one another and must have looked even more real at the time they were created than they do today. The "trick" with the illusionistically painted staircase in the foreground gives the viewer (on site) the impression that he could go up into the picture himself.

If one takes into account that it was originally a representation of the Last Supper , in comparison to other representations of the Lord's Supper, e.g. B. the famous Last Supper by Leonardo , or several dramatic pictures by Veronese contemporary Tintoretto , the festive and aristocratic splendor of this picture, and also the fact that the disciples are somewhat drowned in the crowd of people represented.

history

The image of the Last Supper for the refectory of the Santi Giovanni e Paolo monastery in Venice was commissioned by Titian to replace the Last Supper, which was destroyed in a fire in the refectory in 1571 .

It is a common misconception that Paolo Veronese was charged by the Inquisition for the picture known as the "Banquet in the Levi House". The ecclesiastical religious jurisdiction is often confused with the Venetian State Inquisition.

Mercenaries drinking, detail from Veronese's feast at Levi's house , 1573
Jester or -zwerg with parrot and Moors -Page, detail from Veronese's Feast in the House of Levi , 1573

About three months after the Last Supper (dated April 20, 1573) was hung in the Dominican refectory of SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, on July 18, 1573, Veronese was appointed by the three Savi of the Sacro Tribunale in the Cappella di San Teodoro of St. Mark's Basilica questioned. In Venice, such a hearing was a prerequisite before - after a corresponding decision by the Doge - an ecclesiastical inquisition process could be initiated. The handwritten protocol of the survey has been preserved.
The questioning referred to some figures in the picture, which probably caused offense: On the right at the edge of the picture clearly recognizable “warriors dressed in German style”: “You don't know that in Germany and other places haunted by heresy one has such hideous paintings and the like Seeking to blaspheme, destroy and poison the cause of the Catholic Church for inventions in order to entangle the simple-minded people in heresy? "(Protocol quoted after the translation in Delogu)
Also other things with which Veronese had filled the large picture area displeased: “Whether it seemed proper to him to paint fools, drunks, Germans, dwarfs, and similar atrocities at the gentleman's last meal.”
Veronese: “No, gentlemen ... I did it with the assumption that they were outside the place where the meal is being held. ”
Apparently they wanted to hear names from Veronese during the questioning in order to be able to take action against those concerned. This is indicated by the following passage in the protocol: “Was anyone ordered that you should depict Germans, fools and the like in this picture?” That Veronese portrays the commission of Father Andrea Buona (in the right part of the picture as the center of the group of figures there ), should have been known to the questioner.
Veronese, however, carefully avoided the temptation to pull herself out of the affair by denouncing : “No, gentlemen, but I was asked to decorate the picture as I liked, because it is large and can contain many figures, it seemed to me . "

There was neither an indictment nor a fine, but initially the requirement to change the title of the picture, which was subsequently deleted from the minutes. Veronese actually changed the title of the picture by adding the almost invisible inscription FECIT D. COVO on the balustrade to the left and right . MAGNV. LEVI and LVCA CAP. V inserted. So the picture could no longer be understood as the last supper , but it now referred to the feast in the Levi house mentioned in Luke's Gospel ( Luke 5 : 27–32  EU ).

Apparently, with this questioning, the matter was left behind. In Venice, such a questioning or hearing was a prerequisite before - after a corresponding decision by the Doge - an ecclesiastical inquisition process could be initiated. There was no inquisition trial against Veronese.
“In reality there was no risk for Paolo himself: the extraordinary trial for a picture served the inquisitors and sages as a pretext and a good opportunity to warn the Dominicans about Santi Giovanni and Paolo; They had been keeping an eye on these for some time because they stubbornly refused to obey the Reformation regulations of the observance, but also because of numerous cases of demonstrable apostasy within the monastery. Obviously the banquet was not subjected to any final control. "

From this "affair" assessments of the intellectual atmosphere and situation of the artists in Venice in the 16th century were derived, which are not supported by this process. The spiritual inquisition was never allowed to proceed independently in Venice, but was tied to the approval of the Doge and three councilors ( Savi contro l'Ecclesia ).

After the monastery was closed by order of Napoleon in 1807, the painting came to the “ Gallerie dell'Accademia di belle arti ” in Venice, where the wall of the hall had to be extended on both sides because of the width of the picture of over 13 meters.

A preliminary drawing for this painting from 1571 is in the Staatliche Museen Kassel . It is made with graphite and a black pen and measures 30.8 cm × 20.9 cm.

  • Jesus with his disciples Peter (left) and John (right), detail from Veronese's feast in Levi's house , 1573

effect

literature

  • Armand Baschet: Paolo Veronese appelé au tribunal du S. Office à Venise . In: Gazette des Beaux Arts. Paris 1867
  • Armand Baschet: Veronese and the Inquisition . In: Gazette des Beaux Arts 58/1961
  • Philipp Fehl : Veronese and the Inquisition, a Study of the Subject Matter of the so-called “Feast in the House of Levi” . In: Gazette des Beaux Arts 53/1961
  • Philipp Fehl, Marilyn Perry: Paintings and the Inquisition at Venice: forgotten files . In Interpretazione Veneziane 1984 pp. 371-383
  • Gino Fogolari: Il processo dell'Inquisitione a Paolo Veronese . In: Archivio Veneto XVII / 1935
  • Cecil Gould: Veronese's greatest Feast. The interaction of iconographic and aesthetic factors . In Arte Veneta 43 / 1989-90 pp. 85-88
  • Andreas Priever: Paolo Veroneses' banquet in the house of Levi - on a rediscovered drawing from the collection of the Duc de Tallard. In: Pantheon 51/1993 pp. 92-100.
  • Emmerich Schaffran: The Inquisition Trial against Paolo Veronese. In Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 42/1960 pp. 178–193
  • Staatliche Museen Kassel, Christiane Lukatis, Hans Ottomeyer: With brush, pen and pen - master drawings of the graphic collection , exhibition catalog, Edition Minerva, Kassel 2000 ISBN 3-931787-12-5

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Filippo Pedrocco: `` Veronese '', Scala, Antella (Florence), 1998, p. 34 ff.
  2. ^ David Rosand: The Venetian Painting in the 16th Century , in: Giandomenico Romanelli (ed.): Venice - Art and Architecture , Vol. 1, Könemann, Cologne, 1997, pp. 394–457, here: 439.
  3. ↑ That it is evening comes from the biblical tradition of the Lord's Supper. David Rosand: The Venetian Painting in the 16th Century , in: Giandomenico Romanelli (Ed.): Venice - Art and Architecture , Vol. 1, Könemann, Cologne, 1997, pp. 394–457, here: 439.
  4. ↑ The identification of John and Peter is based on pictorial traditions and is also mentioned by Rosand. David Rosand: The Venetian Painting in the 16th Century , in: Giandomenico Romanelli (Ed.): Venice - Art and Architecture , Vol. 1, Könemann, Cologne, 1997, pp. 394–457, here: 439.
  5. ^ David Rosand: The Venetian Painting in the 16th Century , in: Giandomenico Romanelli (ed.): Venice - Art and Architecture , Vol. 1, Könemann, Cologne, 1997, pp. 394–457, here: 439.
  6. ^ Translated into German by Giuseppe Delogu (ed.): The banquet in the Levi house. Text of the interrogation of Paolo Veronese. Zurich 1950 (without pagination).
  7. ↑ see also Armand Baschet: Paolo Veronese appelé au tribunal du S. Office à Venise . In: Gazette des Beaux Arts . Paris 1867; Philipp Fehl : Veronese and the Inquisition, a Study of the Subject Matter of the so-called "Feast in the House of Levi" . In: Gazette des Beaux Arts 53/1961; Ders .: Veronese and the Inquisition . In: Gazette des Beaux Arts 58/1961; Gino Fogolari: Il processo dell'Inquisitione a Paolo Veronese . In: Archivio Veneto XVII / 1935
  8. ↑ Augusto Gentili, Giovanna Nepi Scirè, Giandomenico Romanelli, Philip Rylands: Painting in Venice. Hirmer, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7774-9810-6 , p. 313 (Original I dipinti di Venezia . Udine 2002). On the “problems” with the monks of SS.Giovanni e Paolo see Maria Cali: La 'religione' di Lorenzo Lotto . In: Lorenzo Lotto. Asolo 1980.
  9. ↑ The religious jurisdiction was withdrawn from the patriarch on September 20, 1335 at the latest and a blasphemy magistrate ( Sapientes haeresiarum ) was elected by the Great Council .
  10. ^ Staatliche Museen Kassel, Christiane Lukatis, Hans Ottomeyer (ed.): With brush, pen and pen - master drawings of the graphic collection , p. 28.