The Wedding at Cana
Paolo Veronese · 1563
The Wedding at Cana is the largest painting in the Louvre, measuring nearly 70 square meters. Painted by Paolo Veronese in 1563 for the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, it depicts the biblical story of the Marriage at Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine.
The painting features over 130 figures arranged in a magnificent architectural setting inspired by the designs of Andrea Palladio. Among the guests, Veronese included portraits of notable contemporaries: the musicians in the foreground are believed to include Veronese himself playing the viola, alongside Tintoretto, Titian, and Jacopo Bassano. The scene is rendered with Veronese's characteristic love of sumptuous color, lavish textiles, and elaborate architectural detail.
The painting was seized by Napoleon's forces in 1797 and brought to Paris, where it has remained ever since. It hangs directly opposite the Mona Lisa in the Salle des États, though its enormous scale often leaves visitors astonished when they turn from Leonardo's intimate portrait to face Veronese's grand spectacle.
