St. Augustine dictates his "Rules" to the Lateran canons

This large canvas once hung in the sacristy of the church of the Carità, the monastery that the Lateran canons of Saint Augustine ran on this very spot. In the 19th century the state took over their buildings and turned them into the Gallerie dell'Accademia, so the picture never really left home. It shows Augustine in bishop's robes, setting down the Rule that ordered the canons' daily life, while the brethren gather close around him. Look at their faces, sharply individual: they are thought to be portraits of the real prelates living here when it was painted. The artist was Carletto Caliari, the youngest son of Paolo Veronese, and he died at 26, not long after finishing what many consider his finest work.