The Coronation of Hebe was completed by the studio of Paolo Veronese utilizing oil on canvas and was originally installed in a ceiling of Palazzo della Torre. Currently, it is on the ceiling of the Veronese Room. This almost square, vertical painting depicts many figures and gods seated on clouds, all of whom are light-skinned. Hebe, the personification of the beauty of youth, is shown in the center wearing blue and light pink flowing robes with a gold sash across her chest. Her arms are outstretched. She is being crowned with flowers by a little cupid and handed a cup by Mercury, on her right, your left. Mercury has a red sash draped across his shoulder and torso. Next to him is Diana, wearing a blue and white flowing gown with a two-pronged ornament on her head. A brown dog is seated in front of them and gazes up at Mercury. Above Hebe are two flying cupids; one holding arrows, the other a bow. In the top left are a group of figures seated below an eagle in flight. Jupiter is seated on a dark cloud with a red shawl over his shoulders and lap. Four figures, seated around him, are listening to him. In front of them stands Venus, seen nude with a coral shawl, with her left arm pointing toward Hebe. There is a cupid standing behind her who holds the end of her shawl. In the upper right corner are five figures seated on a cloud; a cupid, two nude women and two men. The head of an animal is visible between the two women. Below them and to the right of Hebe, is Neptune, holding a golden trident and wearing a green shawl across his lap. He is seated next to a woman who wears a red and white gown with gold ornaments in her hair. Below them is a man holding what appears to be a violin and wearing a red shawl across his shoulders and thighs, facing Hebe above. He is seated on a cloud next to a woman who holds a large ring and wears a green shawl across her thighs. In the lower right corner are two women who are seen facing each other. In the bottom center are five figures seated on a cloud; two women and three men. Above them are the two largest figures; a man who faces Hebe, is helmeted and wears a red outfit and boots. Next to him is a figure who wears armor, a helmet and holds a lighted torch in their right arm. There are groups of less distinguishable figures throughout.
Veronese Room
Commentary
Of all the Renaissance painters adored by Gilded Age collectors and amateurs, Paolo Veronese ranks among the top. His lush visions of heaven, vast biblical banquets, and sumptuous mythological scenes evoke a richly operatic fantasy of Renaissance Venice that fueled the imagination of Gardner and her friends.
While American collectors idolized Veronese's most famous works, his vast mythological scenes and towering altarpieces were both hard to come by and impractically large for most houses. Yet, in 1899, while construction of the museum was well under way, Gardner acquired this canvas attributed to Veronese (now thought to be by his studio) and painted for the Dalla Torre family's mainland palace at Udine in the 1580s. Crowned with the flowers of Cupid in a court of gods and goddesses, The Coronation of Hebe was a subject fit for the queen of Fenway Court by a painter whom she and contemporaries held in high esteem.