The Feast in the House of Levi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


''The Feast in the House of Levi''
Paolo Veronese, 1573
Oil on canvas
555 × 1280 cm
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

The Feast in the House of Levi is a 1573 painting by Italian painter Paolo Veronese and one of the largest canvases of the 16th century measuring 555 x 1280 cm. It is currently on display at the Gallerie dell'Accademia, in Venice. ^[1]

It was painted by Veronese for the Dominican order of SS. Giovanni Paolo to replace an earlier work by Titian destroyed in the fire of 1571.

However the painting led to an investigation by the Roman Catholic Inquisition. Paolo Veronese was called to answer for irreverence, and was accused of the serious indictment of heresy. He had originally named the painting the Lord's Last Supper, meaning the last meal that Christ had shared with Saint Matthew which was seen as derogatory towards The Last Supper story of the bible. Veronese however was not charged but was forced to rename the painting as The Feast in the House of Levi. ^[2]

The painting depicts a banquet scene in which the tall figure of Christ is depicted in the centre in a shimmering pale green robe and the surrounding people interact in a turbulence of polychromatic splendour at a whole diversity of different positions and poses.

The great meal is framed by the great pillars and archways of a portico and a staircase to the right.