The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese 2.5 oz Silver Coin

2.5 oz 999 Fine Silver Coin – Republique du Tchad 2024 – 10000 Francs CFA

Paolo Veronese’s “The Wedding at Cana”, completed in 1563, is a monumental example of Venetian Renaissance painting that combines biblical storytelling with lavish celebrations and theatrical grandeur. Commissioned for the refectory of the San Giorgio Maggiore monastery in Venice, the painting reimagines the New Testament story of Christ’s first miracle—turning water into wine—within the splendor of a contemporary Venetian feast. With over 130 figures and sprawling architectural detail, Veronese transforms a sacred event into a vibrant cultural spectacle that merges sacred narrative with secular magnificence.

At its core, The Wedding at Cana illustrates a moment from the Gospel of John, where Jesus, attending a wedding banquet in Cana, performs his first miracle at the behest of his mother, Mary. Yet rather than presenting a humble biblical scene, Veronese elevates the episode to epic proportions. The composition is grand and symmetrical, with a central table stretching across the horizontal axis, echoing Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, yet populated with far more figures. Jesus, seated quietly at the centre, is nearly dwarfed by the surrounding activity—a deliberate choice that emphasizes the hidden nature of the miracle rather than the spectacle of it.

Veronese populates the banquet with a diverse crowd of nobles, musicians, servants, and even exotic figures, many of them dressed in the sumptuous silks and brocades of 16th-century Venice. These inclusions reflect the wealth and cosmopolitanism of the Venetian Republic at the time. Notably, the musicians in the foreground are believed to be portraits of contemporary artists: Veronese himself plays the viola da braccio, flanked by Titian, Tintoretto, and Bassano—an homage to Venetian artistic excellence. Towering classical architecture frames the scene, with colonnades and open skies suggesting a fusion of earthly celebration and heavenly order. This architectural backdrop, inspired by Palladian ideals, gives a sense of elevation and harmony, anchoring the bustling scene in a grand theatrical space. The vibrant palette — dominated by whites, blues, reds, and golds — enhances the painting’s celebratory tone and illuminates the intricate textures of fabric, glassware, and human expression.

Though richly decorative, “The Wedding at Cana” is not without spiritual depth. Veronese subtly inserts theological significance throughout the painting. The calm, luminous figure of Christ offers a quiet focal point amid the revelry. Above him, a butcher cuts meat — symbolically echoing Christ’s future sacrifice. Wine jars line the foreground, referencing the miracle itself and its Eucharistic connotations. Veronese’s masterpiece exemplifies the Venetian school’s love of colour, light, and opulence, standing in contrast to the more simple approaches of Florentine contemporaries. The painting’s theatricality and sensuality were later scrutinized by the Inquisition, although it was ultimately preserved intact.

Today, “The Wedding at Cana” is housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, having been seized by Napoleon in 1797. Despite its displacement, the work remains a testament to Renaissance grandeur, artistic self-awareness, and the capacity of painting to blend the sacred with the splendid. It continues to captivate viewers not just for its scale, but for its vision of faith woven into the fabric of everyday celebration.

On a canvas of 165 x 125mm, a new minting technique called “Tri-Metal” was applied to give this piece its remarkable weight while keeping its proportions true to the actual painting. This is made possible by combining 750g of Zinc as a center layer and 120g of copper as a base with a top layer of 2.5 oz of 999 fine Silver, resulting in a high relief. This is a limited edition of 399 pieces only. Each piece is packaged and delivered with a Certificate verifying its edition number and authenticity.