Christus unter den Schriftgelehrten

Veronese sets a Bible story in the grandest room he can imagine. The subject is the boy Jesus, age 12, found by his parents in the Temple in Jerusalem, calmly arguing scripture with the learned elders while they look on. Veronese fills the scene with 25 figures in gorgeous silks and places Christ high on the central axis, counting off his points on his fingers. The soaring columns and arches behind them borrow from the architect Andrea Palladio, Veronese's contemporary, which helps date the canvas to around 1560. A century later the painting turned up in the royal collection in Madrid, quite possibly carried back from Italy by the court painter Velázquez himself.