The magnificent decorative style, developed in the Villa Barbaro at Maser, was taken even further in the 1560s, in a series of large paintings on the common theme of suppers at which Christ was present. Veronese used the stories from the Gospels as an excuse to stage sumptuous feasts in sixteenth-century dress inside grandiose and theatrical architectural perspectives, producing realistic representations of social life at the highest level, dominated by the magnificence of the surroundings and the refined elegance of the clothing worn by the guest. The Supper in Emmaus (Louvre, Paris), the Feast in the House of Simon, painted for the dining room of the Benedictines in San Nazaro e Celso in Verona, (now in the Galleria Sabauda, Turin), and the Marriage at Cana, executed for the refectory of the convent of San Giorgio Maggiore at Venice (now in the Louvre, Paris) belong to the series.

In the 1570s Veronese returned to the theme of the feasts, painting the Feast at the House of Simon for the monastery of St Sebastian (now in the Pinacoteca di Brera), the same subject for the refectory of the Servites (which the Venetian Republic donated to King Louis XIV of France in 1664 and now is at Versailles), the Feast in the House of Gregory the Great for the sanctuary of Monte Berico at Vicenza (1572), and finally the Feast in the House of Levi for the refectory of the Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice (now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice).

In each case it was the local context that determined the huge format and particular form of the pictures. All of them were once attached to the walls at the end of the monastery refectories where, supported by the use of symmetrical pictorial architectures, they created a loose painted extension of the real space.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 9 minutes): Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in C major RV 180 (Il Piacere, The Pleasure)

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Supper in Emmaus c. 1560 Oil on canvas, 242 x 416 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris	1411*800 True Color 168 Kb
	The Marriage at Cana 1563 Oil on canvas, 666 x 990 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris	1359*900 True Color 230 Kb
	The Marriage at Cana (detail) 1563 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris	900*1052 True Color 196 Kb
	The Marriage at Cana (detail) 1563 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris	1036*1154 True Color 183 Kb
	The Marriage at Cana (detail) 1563 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris	900*1248 True Color 149 Kb
	The Marriage at Cana (detail) 1563 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris	1321*930 True Color 200 Kb
	The Marriage at Cana (detail) 1563 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris	900*1085 True Color 170 Kb
	The Marriage at Cana (detail) 1563 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris	850*1131 True Color 176 Kb
	The Marriage at Cana (detail) 1563 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris	486*660 True Color 62 Kb
	Feast in the House of Simon 1560s Oil on canvas, 315 x 451 cm Galleria Sabauda, Turin	1441*1000 True Color 177 Kb
	Feast in the House of Simon 1560s Oil on canvas, 315 x 451 cm Galleria Sabauda, Turin	1300*944 True Color 192 Kb
	Feast in the House of Simon (detail) 1556-60 Oil on canvas Galleria Sabauda, Turin	1034*1300 True Color 169 Kb
	Feast in the House of Simon (detail) 1556-60 Oil on canvas Galleria Sabauda, Turin	1065*1200 True Color 169 Kb
	Feast in the House of Simon (detail) 1556-60 Oil on canvas Galleria Sabauda, Turin	1000*1180 True Color 195 Kb
	Feast in the House of Simon (detail) 1556-60 Oil on canvas Galleria Sabauda, Turin	1300*867 True Color 194 Kb
	Feast at the House of Simon 1567-70 Oil on canvas, 275 x 710 cm Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan	1321*500 True Color 115 Kb
	Feast at the House of Simon (detail) 1567-70 Oil on canvas Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan	1233*850 True Color 185 Kb
	Feast at the House of Simon (detail) 1567-70 Oil on canvas Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan	945*1400 True Color 191 Kb
	Feast at the House of Simon (detail) 1567-70 Oil on canvas Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan	1118*1000 True Color 149 Kb
	Feast at the House of Simon (detail) 1567-70 Oil on canvas Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan	820*1212 True Color 173 Kb
	Feast at the House of Simon 1570-72 Oil on canvas, 454 x 874 cm Musée National du Château, Versailles	1639*750 True Color 198 Kb
	Marriage at Cana 1571-72 Oil on canvas, 207 x 457 cm Gemäldegalerie, Dresden	1114*471 True Color 114 Kb
	Marriage at Cana (detail) 1571-72 Oil on canvas Gemäldegalerie, Dresden	1076*950 True Color 192 Kb
	Marriage at Cana (detail) 1571-72 Oil on canvas Gemäldegalerie, Dresden	1151*1009 True Color 189 Kb
	Marriage at Cana (detail) 1571-72 Oil on canvas Gemäldegalerie, Dresden	950*1113 True Color 187 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi 1573 Oil on canvas, 555 x 1280 cm Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	1470*750 True Color 206 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	950*1259 True Color 216 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	892*1200 True Color 201 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	1000*1167 True Color 180 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	950*1107 True Color 176 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	900*1194 True Color 198 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	950*1174 True Color 171 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	1100*1305 True Color 228 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	1006*1102 True Color 170 Kb
	Feast in the House of Levi (detail) 1573 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice	993*900 True Color 140 Kb
	Last Supper c. 1585 Oil on canvas, 220 x 523 cm Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan	1650*683 True Color 142 Kb