Terms and conditions of use
Nobleman between Active and Contemplative life
(c. 1575)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
134.0 × 204.5 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1947
Gallery location
16th & 17th Century Gallery - Painting and Sculpture
Mezzanine linked to Level 1, NGV International
About this work
Paolo Veronese moved from his native city of Verona to Venice in the early 1550s and integrated the elegance and beauty of central Italian Mannerism with the weighty figures and chromatic brilliance of Titian. Technical examination of this work has revealed that it is an autograph work by Veronese; however, it remained incomplete at his death and is his only known unfinished work. Therefore, it provides unique insight into Veronese’s working methods, including his making certain changes that still seem unresolved, and finishing some figures but not others. The subject depicted, choosing intellectual or physical pursuits of life, was popular during the Renaissance.
Artwork Details
Accession Number
1707-4
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Allegory and Symbols Human Figures Philosophy, Scholarship, Learning and Teaching
Subjects (specific)
decision making Juno (Roman deity) Minerva (Roman deity) nobles (aristocrats) physical activities temptations Venus (Roman deity) wisdom
Movements
Renaissance