Triumph of Venice, Hall of the Great Council, Doge's Palace, Venice

(c. 1585)

   This work, created by Paolo Veronese for the ceiling of the Hall of the Great Council in the Doge's Palace, is sometimes also called The Apotheosis of Venice because it shows an allegorical representation of the city being taken up to heaven. The scene is rendered through the use of the di sotto in sù technique and consists of three parts. In the topmost portion is the enthroned Venice modeled after the Virgin Mary, with scepter in hand and surrounded by Virtues, 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.