The Wedding at Cana

The Wedding at Cana is the largest painting in the Louvre, measuring nearly 10 meters wide and nearly 7 meters tall. Painted by Paolo Veronese in 1563 for the refectory of the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, this sumptuous work depicts the biblical miracle at the Wedding at Cana, where Jesus transformed water into wine.

Veronese populated the scene with over 130 figures, many believed to be portraits of contemporary European monarchs and dignitaries, alongside musicians and servants in richly detailed Venetian costumes. The painter himself appears playing the viola da braccio alongside Titian, Tintoretto, and Bassano in a group of musicians at the center of the composition.

The painting was seized by Napoleon's troops in 1797 during the Italian campaign and transported to Paris, where it has remained ever since despite Italian requests for its return. It hangs opposite the Mona Lisa in the Salle des États, creating a striking dialogue between Leonardo's intimate masterpiece and Veronese's grand spectacle.