TRIUMPH OF VENICE, HALL OF THE GREAT COUNCIL, DOGE'S PALACE, VENICE

(c. 1585)

This work, created byPaolo Veronesefor the ceiling of the Hall of the Great Council in theDoge's Palace, is sometimes also calledThe Apotheosis ofVenicebecause it shows an allegorical representation of the city being taken up to heaven. The scene is rendered through the use of thedi sotto in sùtechnique and consists of three parts. In the topmost portion is the enthroned Venice modeled after theVirgin Mary, with scepter in hand and surrounded byVirtues, rising in all her glory. She is flanked by the towers of the Venetian Arsenal, a symbol of the city's military power, and above her hovers a winged Victory who crowns her. In the central portion of the painting, the Venetian citizenry witness the momentous occasion. Below the balcony on which the figures stand is the Venetian army. In the center of this lower level, the lion of St. Mark, patron saint of Venice, is clearly discerned. The scene, then, commingles allegorical, political, and religious elements to denote clearly the glory and might of Venice, and its enjoyment of divine protection.