Sts Mark, James and Jerome with the Dead Christ Borne by Angels 1582

Paolo Veronese created this altarpiece featuring Sts Mark, James, and Jerome with the Dead Christ borne by Angels. Paintings like this one played a vital role in the religious life of the time. In sixteenth-century Venice, the church was a key institution, enmeshed with politics, social life, and the patronage of the arts. Veronese was one of Venice’s leading artists, and his work reflects the values of its institutions. Note how the three saints are arranged in a solemn assembly beneath the celestial vision of Christ's ascent. They are painted with an emphasis on classical composition and humanistic ideals, reflecting Venice's own self-image as a center of learning and piety. But religious art was used for political purposes as well. Paintings of this kind promoted the values of the church and reinforced its authority within Venetian society. Historians use parish records, sermons, and other resources to better understand how paintings reflected and influenced Venetian society. Looking at art in its full social and institutional context gives us a richer sense of its historical meaning.