Apotheosis of Venice 1585

     This piece is located in on the ceiling of the Hall of The Great Council in the Doge's Palace. It was a public commission featuring the allegorical female figure of Venice being crowned by two victories. Around her, sit other allegories. This piece is noteworthy because it's use of light and space is an indicator of the baroque period to come.
     The allegory of Vencie is also the Virgin Mary. She is portrayed in the clouds as a means to show her victory over the pope and city states and her residence in Heaven. The Rape of Europa is depicted on the lower level. To elaborate, the story is as follows: Zues was in love with Europa. He disguised himself as a bull in Europa's father's field and as Europa went to ride the bull, he swam to the island of Crete and she became the first queen of the island. In Veronese's painting, this is a metaphor for the preservation of the arts.
     Upon studying this painting, I find it mesmerizing. Every time I glance at it, I notice a new figure or interesting detail.  The vivacious animals, colorful skies, and variation of figures are all typical of Veronese as I have explained in previous entries. This may be my favorite piece thus far by Veronese due to the likeness it has to Baroque painting. It is obvious that Veronese has a specific command of dramatic colors to cause his figures to simultaneously complement and diverge from one another. It's essential separation in to three registers eludes to organization, without being too obvious in a classical manor.
     As many others have noted before myself, it is hard to identify the focal point  in many Veronese pieces. Without reading up, I would never have taken allegory or even the mythological story from this. Admittedly, I still struggle to make sense of the bottom scene. When I look at the piece, I see above all else, a multitude of complementary color palettes and plentiful  intriguing figures.