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Maître Jean Emmanuel PRUNIER
53
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Attributed to Paolo VERONESE (Verona, 1528 – Venice, 1588).
See original version (French)
53
-
Attributed to Paolo VERONESE (Verona, 1528 – Venice, 1588).
See original version (French)
Estimate €300,000 - €500,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Attributed to Paolo VERONESE (Verona, 1528 – Venice, 1588). The Young Falconer. Larch panel. Height: 216 cm. Width: 115 cm. Previous restorations. Our large, previously unpublished panel was used as a door in a villa in the Venetian countryside, either as a pendant or as part of a pair with the one held by the Bemberg Foundation in Toulouse (ill. 1), which also depicts a falconer, an older man, with his dog [1]. The two figures are depicted in the act of setting off, descending a step. They appear on the threshold of a half-open door, creating an effect of surprise accentuated by the perspective and their life-size scale. The most famous examples of trompe-l’oeil false doors were created by Veronese at the Villa Barbaro in Maser (1561), built by the architect Andrea Palladio. The fresco decoration devised by the artist and the owners, the Barbaro brothers – notably Daniele – unfolds a rich iconographic programme throughout the rooms. In the Hall of Olympus, beneath a ceiling depicting the celestial vault, the walls are punctuated by architectural features and niches containing faux statues, as well as imitation windows juxtaposed with real openings, where the painted landscapes give the impression of being outdoors. A whole Mannerist interplay of spatial illusions unfolds, with figures, statues, animals or objects placed in front of or behind a door, a column or a balustrade. As soon as you enter the cruciform vestibule, a young girl pokes her head through a doorway (ill. 2), and a young page emerges as if there were another room behind it. Other figures punctuate the interior walls; pairs of musicians flank the doors (whether real or trompe l’oeil), and the niches become veritable theatres in which saints or allegorical figures come to life. Finally, a young gentleman returning from a hunt (perhaps a self-portrait or that of the owner, fig. 3) is depicted in front of a doorframe, with his two dogs, holding a halberd. This figure, situated at the end of the gallery, is visible from the Hall of Olympus. Our painting follows the same illusionist principle with the similar aim of bringing to life a large hall, probably in another villa [2], and at a slightly later date, around 1570. In the early 16th century, the expansion of maritime trade prompted the new Venetian aristocracy to take an interest in the vast agricultural estates in the hinterland (Terraferma). To manage these estates, a hybrid palatial dwelling—combining a residential palace with a working farm—was devised by Palladio and became widespread between Vicenza and the banks of the Brenta. This return to the land, primarily through hunting – the new way of life for the Venetian elite – was part of a humanist philosophy that restored agriculture and hunting to their status as fundamental ‘Roman’ values, those of the Italian knighthood. These new patricians took up falconry, which would remain the most noble form of hunting until the 17th century. On both doors, Veronese depicts a falconer holding a falcon [3], wearing a red leather hood, its legs bound by a leather lead held in his gloved hand. The pointing dog is indispensable to this practice: it flushes out the game, and then the falconer removes the hood and releases his bird at the opportune moment. Animals, and dogs in particular, are omnipresent in Veronese’s work. In his portraits, his great banquet scenes and religious compositions (The Pilgrims of Emmaus, The Wedding at Cana, Louvre Museum), they symbolise loyalty and lend a touch of realism. Here, at his master’s feet, he gnaws on a bone, his eyes alert. Our artist depicts real dogs, each breed rendered with precision, a far cry from the stylised representations of ceremonial dogs found in the works of other painters. The hunting dog was probably the patron’s own. The young man wears a beret adorned with a plume of feathers. His fitted doublet is decorated with slits; he wears a white handkerchief at his waist, the colour of which matches that of the fabric wrapped around his neck. The yellow and green palette of the Bemberg painting is counterbalanced here by the red that dominates the lower parts of his tight-fitting red breeches and sleeves, as well as the half-open door behind the young man. In both cases, the vivid colour is enhanced by the white fabrics that illuminate the whole composition, a demonstration of Veronese’s qualities as a colourist, which have always been celebrated. His work would serve as a model in the 17th century and right up to the Tiepolo family. He excels in the depiction of movement, in these dialogues between real and fictional spaces, designed to astonish the viewer and contributing to the splendour of his patrons [4]. The discovery of this exceptional panel clearly illustrates this characteristic approach of the last great painter of church and palace decorations of the Renaissance in Venice and the Veneto. This painting is accompanied by a certificate from The Art Loss Register dated 2 June 2026. Appraisal: Cabinet Turquin
See original version (French)
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