11/09/2001
by Alex Kearney

Paolo Caliari, called Veronese (1528-1588) was, with Titian and Tintoretto, one of the great trio of Venetian 16^th century painters. His corpus consists of over 300 paintings and some 150 drawings. A significant part of his output rarely, if ever, comes up at auction, consisting as it does of frescoes, ceiling paintings and enormous refectory Feast scenes. For those mythological works, marriage chest panels, portraits and small devotional pieces which do make it to the showrooms, interest is keen. Veronese's lively compositions, warm flesh tones and shimmering fabrics are a winner with the modern buyer, as they once were with Venetian clergymen and humanists. His reputation ensures steep prices for confirmed works. Subject matter can be crucial to a good sale and Veronese's mythologies, with their good humoured eroticism, arouse greater interest than his religious paintings.

A Cupid disarmed by Venus (oil on canvas, 158 x 139 cm) made $ 2.7 million (€ 3.01 million) at Christie's, New York on the 10th of January 1990, over double its maximum estimate. A decade later at Christie's, London on the 11^th of July 2001, another mythological subject, this time a fragment from Veronese's Venus Arming Mars, made $ 181,540 (€ 203,146). This far exceeded its official estimate of $ 72,760-116,420 (€ 118,460-130,270), despite its diminutive size (78.7 x 53.2 cm) and orphaned state (dismembered in the 19^th century after unspecified damage). Its high price is explained by its superb quality and colourful provenance. It was originally commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612), and later entered the collections of Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689), Philippe, duc d'Orléans, régént de France (1674-1723) and was acquired as a fragment by Giovanni Magnavacca in 1966.

At auction, Veronese's religious works easily outnumber his mythologies and portraits. Sotheby's, New York saw The Symbols of the Four Evangelists (oil on canvas, 82.9 x 136.8 cm) achieve a hammer price of $ 405,250 (€ 590,000) against an estimate of $ 350,000-500,000 (€ 391,500-560,000) in January 2001. A hammer price of $ 650,000 (€ 727,100) for Christ and the Widow of Nain (oil on canvas, 98 x 164 cm) at Christie's, New York, on the 29^th of June 1998, easily exceeded expectations of $ 300,000-500,000 (€ 391,500-560,000). By contrast on the 16^th of December the same year, The Rest on the Return from Egypt (oil on canvas, 160 x 162 cm) fell well short of its estimate of $ 290,730-436,100 (€ 324,800-487,300) at Christie's, London, selling on reserve for $ 218,000 (€ 243,580). The previous year Bonhams offered A Last Supper which was unsold against an estimate of $ 440,000-727,540 (€ 492,000-813,570). The catalogue stated that the work was an affirmed work but nobody bought it (literally).

Veronese presided over an efficient workshop, his fame encouraging a rash of emulators and copyists. A computer search from the Gabrius data bank for Veroneses in international auctions since January 2000, produced over 40 results. Only 8 were autograph works. The rest were a motley crew of second rate paintings with lowish prices. A copy of Europa and the Bull (oil on canvas, 95.8 x 122.0 cm) went for as low as $ 1,900 (€ 2,120), at William Doyle Galleries, New York on the 25^th of October, 2000. Other derivative pieces fared little better. A Portrait of a Lady in a Green Dress (circle of Veronese, oil on canvas, 99.8 x 79.6 cm) made $ 14,000 (€ 16,600) at Sotheby's, London on the 12^th of July, 2001. A workshop Sacra Famiglia con Santa Barbara e San Giovannino (oil on canvas, 142.0 x 131.0 cm) doubled its lower estimate to reach a premium of $ 17,000 (€ 19,100) at Sotheby's, Milan, on the 7^th of July 2000.

If a bonafide Veronese painting is beyond your means, an authenticated drawing could be the answer. Of the 8 autograph works mentioned above, 5 were drawings. Results at Sotheby's New York, on the 26^th of January 2000, varied from $ 43,125 (€ 48,200), for a chalk study of a seated man (30.3 x 20.7 cm.), to $ 8,050 (€ 9,000), for a chalk study of a boy's hands and head with a sketch on the verso (27.4 x 20.7 cm.). Authenticity is, of course, the watchword here and forgeries are a small, if distinct, hazard.