Veneziano, Paolo

(active c. 1333-1360)

   The first Venetian painter to be known by name. Although Giotto had already introduced a new mode of painting that rejected the Maniera Greca and depended on the empirical observation of nature, Paolo Veneziano nevertheless continued to paint in the Greek mode. The reason for this is that the style was well suited to Venetian taste as Venice had close ties to Byzantium from where the Maniera Greca originated. One of Paolo's most important commissions is the Coronation of the Virgin painted in 1324 (Washington, National Gallery), a work featuring heavy gilding, emphasis on lines, gold striations to denote the folds of drapery, and brilliant colors typical of the Maniera Greca mode. His other noteworthy commission is the series of wooden panels he painted in 1345 for Doge Andrea Dandolo as the cover to the Pala D'Oro, a major bejeweled altarpiece from the 10th century housed in the Basilica of San Marco.