Triumph of Mordecai, San Sebastiano, Venice

(1556)

   Rendered by Paolo Veronese, this ceiling painting was part of a series of works for the Church of San Sebastiano in Venice that included an altarpiece and organ shutters. The scene is from the Book of Esther and recounts the event celebrated during the Jewish feast of Purim. Mordecai was Esther's adoptive father and uncle and he refused to bow to Haman, King Ahasuerus' officer. Haman wanted revenge, so he plotted the assassination of Mordecai and destruction of his people, the Jews. Esther invited her consort Ahasuerus and Haman to a banquet and there revealed the plot. Haman was executed in the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, and Mordecai was appointed the king's new officer and showered with honors. The scene Veronese depicted shows the procession that took place to celebrate Mordecai's triumph. Veronese took the viewer's point of view into consideration by rendering the scene using a di sotto in sù technique. As a result, we see the undersides of the horses and figures. The remarkable illusionism in this work became a source of inspiration for the ceiling paintings of the Baroque era.