Paolo Caliari, called Il Veronese

Royal collection, Athens, since the early 20th century;
Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Noble Family"), London, Christie's, 21 April 2004, lot 95.

F. Sansovino and G. Stringa, Venetia città nobilissima et singolare, etc., Venice 1604, p. 183;
C. Ridolfi, Le Meraviglie dell'arte, Venice, 1648, rev. edn., D. von Hadeln, ed., 1914, p. 301 and note;
M. Boschini, Le Minere della pintura, etc., Venice 1664, p. 355;
M. Boschini, Le Ricche minere della Pittura, etc., Venice 1674, p. 14;
C.C. Patina, Tabellae selectae ac explicitae, Padua 1691, pp. 101-2;
B. Dal Pozzo, Le Vite de' pittori, degli scultori et architetti veronesi, Verona 1718, rev. edn., p. 80;
A.M. Zanetti, Descrizione di tutte le pubbliche pitture della città di Venezia, Venice 1733, p. 322;
A.M. Zanetti, Della pittura veneziana, Venice 1771, p. 166;
G.A. Moschini, Guida per la città di Venezia, Venice 1815, vol. II, p. 314;
E. Cicogna, delle iscrizioni Veneziane raccolte ed illustrate, Venice 1834, vol. IV, p. 152;
F. Zanotto, Nuovissima guida di Venezia, Venice 1856, p. 430;
P. Caliari, Paolo Veronese. Sua vita e sue opere, Rome 1888, pp. 225 and 268;
F.H. Meissner, Veronese, Leipzig 1897, p. 39;
M. Piacentini, 'Dipinti e disegni italiani in Atene', in L'Arte, 1941, pp. 3-19;
H.E. Tietze and E. Tietze-Conrat, Drawings of the Venetian Painters in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, New York 1944, under no. 2034;
F. Tucci-Savo, 'Dipinto inedito di Paolo Veronese', Arte Figurativa Antica e Moderna, May-June 1954, p. 34;
R. Pallucchini, 'Veronese Paolo', in Enciclopedia Universale dell'Arte, vol. XIV, Venice and Rome 1966, p. 725;
T. Pignatti, Le pitture di Paolo Veronese nella chiesa di San Sebastiano in Venezia. Con una notizia tecnica sui restauri di L. Tintori, Milan 1966, pp. 42 and 97-8, reproduced fig. 5;
R. Marini, L'opera completa del Veronese, Milan 1968, p. 107, no. 104;
T. Pignatti, Veronese, Venice 1976, vol. I, no. 76, reproduced vol. II, p. 115, fig. 156;
R. Pallucchini, Veronese, Milan 1984, p. 170;
T. Pignatti and F. Pedrocco, Veronese. Catalogo Completo, Florence 1991, p. 88, no. 45;
T. Pignatti and F. Pedrocco, Veronese, Milan 1995, vol. I, pp. 124-5, no. 85, reproduced.

The picture is softer in tone and warmer in colour than the catalogue illustration would suggest. It is painted on a rough weave canvas which has not been lined. The paint surface appears to be in good overall condition, and although the pigments appear slightly pressed this is a result of a high concentration of wax in the varnish and possibly an attempt on the artist’s part to replicate the effect of fresco. There is no apparent damage or loss of paint apart from some very minor losses to the canvas edges caused by frame abrasion and an old horizontal seam is visible on the reverse only which looks like a canvas join. Examination under ultraviolet reveals a thick discoloured varnish overall which makes examination difficult, particularly in the lower left hand corner in conjunction with old retouching. It also reveals several campaigns of scattered retouching throughout the darker pigments and to the fleshtones. The work appears to be cosmetic apart from what may be an old very minor area of damage to the youth’s left eye. Offered in decorative gilt wood punch mark frame in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is the only surviving fragment of a canvas depicting Saint Sebastian before Diocletian painted by Veronese to replace his damaged fresco of the same subject in the choir of the church of San Sebastiano, Venice.  The whole composition is known through an engraving by Cochin,¹ a drawing by Hans von Aachen,² and from a number of later copies in the Gallerie Accademia, Venice; the Galleria Nazionale, Parma; the Pinacoteca, Rovigo; and in a private collection in Mantua.³  The knight and his page were originally full length and occupied the centre right of the canvas.  A preparatory sketch for the figure of the knight, and the figure of Saint Sebastian, is in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin.⁴  The last recorded mention of the canvas in situ, is by Zanotto in 1856.⁵


1. C. Patina, Tabellae selectae ac explicitae, Padua 1691, pp. 101-2.
2. H. Tietze and E. Tietze-Conrat, under Literature, no. A 2091, p. 345.
3. T. Pignatti, Veronese, Venice 1976, vol. II, reproduced figs.157-61.
4. no. V.30, see M. Piacentini, under Literature, pp. 3-19.
5. F. Zanotto, under Literature, p. 430.