Artwork
Raising the Young Man of Nain
Raising the Young Man of Nain is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Paolo Veronese. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The iconographic elements include the widow, the boy, and the act of resurrection itself, alongside motifs of gratitude and the architectural framing of stairs.
The painting depicts the Raising of the Son of the Widow of Nain, a miracle of Jesus recounted in the Gospel of Luke, in which Christ restores a dead young man to life as his widowed mother is being carried toward burial. Veronese renders this biblical episode with the widow and her female companions dressed in contemporary aristocratic Venetian attire, while Jesus stands before a colonnade reminiscent of contemporary theatrical scenery.
The iconographic elements include the widow, the boy, and the act of resurrection itself, alongside motifs of gratitude and the architectural framing of stairs. By transposing the sacred narrative into a fashionable Venetian setting and a stage-like colonnade, Veronese presents the miracle as both a devotional subject and a celebration of divine compassion, emphasizing the emotional bond between the bereaved mother and her restored son.
Technique & Style
Created by Paolo Veronese around 1565–1570, the work is an oil painting executed on canvas. The artist employs a formal style that situates the biblical narrative within a setting resembling contemporary theatrical scenery, featuring a prominent colonnade behind the central figure of Jesus. Veronese depicts the surrounding figures, including the widow and her companions, wearing aristocratic Venetian dresses characteristic of his own time rather than ancient attire.
This anachronistic costuming and the stage-like composition highlight the painting's integration of religious subject matter with the aesthetic sensibilities of mid-16th century Venice.
History & Provenance
Paolo Veronese executed this oil on canvas depicting the biblical miracle between approximately 1565 and 1570. The work originally entered the collection of Bartolomeo della Nave. In 1659, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria acquired the painting from della Nave's holdings.
The artwork has remained in the imperial collection since that purchase, eventually becoming part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it has been housed since 1735.
The painting is held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, where it carries the inventory number GG 52. It entered the museum’s holdings in 1735 after having been acquired in 1659 by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria from the Bartolomeo della Nave collection.
Overview
Paolo Veronese's oil painting, Raising the Young Man of Nain, created between approximately 1565 and 1570, depicts a pivotal moment from the New Testament. The work illustrates Christ's miraculous revival of the son of the widow of Nain, a narrative set against a backdrop that blends biblical tradition with contemporary Venetian elements. This large-scale canvas is a significant example of the artist's mature style.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Paolo Caliari (1528 – 19 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( VERR-ə-NAY-zay, -zee, US also -see; Italian: ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of…
Christ and the Adulteress
Christ and the Woman in Adultery
Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery
Christ and the Adulteress
Christus und die Ehebrecherin
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, and the Baptism of Christ
Christ and the Centurion
Christ and the Adulteress
Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me
Christ blessing the children