Benedetto Caliari

Republic of Venice·1538-1598

Benedetto Caliari (1538–1598) worked in Venice within one of the most productive painting families of the late Cinquecento. Born in Verona to the stonecutter Gabriele Caliari, he was the younger brother of Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese, and became one of his chief assistants, alongside Veronese's sons Carlo and Gabriele. Within this workshop Benedetto is thought to have taken a leading role in devising the grand architectural settings — colonnades, staircases, loggias — that give Veronese's crowded narrative scenes their theatrical depth. After Veronese died in 1588, Benedetto joined Carlo and Gabriele in completing paintings left unfinished in the studio, the three sometimes signing collectively as the heirs of Paolo. He continued working in Venice until his death in 1598. Paintings attributed to him are now held in museums across Europe and the United States, including the Hermitage, the Rijksmuseum, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, and the Honolulu Museum of Art.