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St Barnabas Healing the Sick

Paolo Caliari

(1528 - 1588) | 803.17

Date : Circa 1566 | Medium : Oil on canvas

From the church of San Giorgio in Braida Verona.

In the apostolic mission he led to Cyprus with his disciple Mark, Saint Barnabas became known for healing the sick by the laying on of the Book of the Gospels, according to the Golden Legend. The impression of human warmth created by the ring of helpers around the central figure of the saint, the modernity of the off-centre tempietto which creates a revolving sensation around the faces and the colour of the turbans all make for a clearly legible tableau. Veronese  brought a solar quality to his work with vibrant colours even in the shadows. The scene was painted for the little church of San Giorgio, attached to the Barnabite hospital in the city of Verona. The artist then returned to his native city, having produced large-scale decorative works in Venice along with Titian and Tintoretto for the chamber of the Council of Ten at the Doge’s Palace