The Reception of Paolo Veronese in Britain (c. 1600–1900)

Peter Humfrey, emeritus professor of art history, University of St. Andrews. In this lecture recorded on October 12, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art, Peter Humfrey surveys the reception of Venetian artist Paolo Veronese in Britain from the early years of the 17th century, when his paintings first began to arrive there, until the end of the 19th century, when some of the finest examples in British private collections began to be exported to the United States. Humfrey focuses on the changing attitudes toward the artist over three centuries, particularly as reflected in the history of collecting. He also considers the pronouncements of critics such as Sir Joshua Reynolds and John Ruskin, and the possible influence of Veronese on English painters.