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VERONICA 198 VERROCCHIO his visit to Rome (1563), when he first became acquainted with the masterpieces of Raphael and Michsel Angelo. The in- fluence of the Roman school on his style was marked, new dignity, grace of pose and ease of movement being added to his rich Venetian coloring; a specific deco- rative element is also hereafter more con- spicuous. He was kept busy with innu- merable commissions, some of which he executed elsewhere than at Venice (as at Vicenza and Treviso). Veronese is re- markable more for the fertility than for the depth or spirituality of his imagina- tion. His design is generally noble, his composition rich, and his execution truth- ful. In the invention of details, espe- cially, he is inexhaustible, and often overloads his pictures with ornament. One peculiarity of his works is the fre- quent introduction of splendid architec- tural backgrounds, which, however, were frequently painted by his brother Bene- detto. The most celebrated of his works — many of them very large — is the "Marriage Feast at Cana of Galilee," now in the Louvre at Paris; it is 20 feet high, and 30 in length, and con- tains 120 figures, many of them por- traits of his contemporaries, and the de- tails much more 16th-century than ancient Jewish. Besides these may be mentioned: "The Calling of St. Andrew to the Apostleship," "The Feast of Si- mon," and (in the National Gallery) the "Presentation of the Family of Darius to Alexander," and "St. Helena's Vision of the Invention of the Cross" — the former purchased for $65,000, and the latter for over $15,000. Veronese was the last of the great Venetian painters. He died in Venice, April 19, 1588, and was buried in San Sebastiano. VERONICA, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, who, according to the legend, was one of the women who met our Lord on his way to Calvary. As he was sinking, overpowered by fatigue, un- der the weight of the cross, Veronica offered him her veil, to wipe the sweat from his brow, when, wondrous to tell, the divine features were miraculously impressed on the cloth, and remained as a permanent picture of the face of our Lord. This miraculous picture is re- ported to have been preserved in Rome sit St. Peter's Church from about the year 700. Another, of similar appear- ance, is preserved at Milan. Many Catholic writers have supposed that the name Veronica is but founded on an er- roneous application of what in reality v/as meant to designate not the person- age, but the picture, which was described as vera icon, "the true image" {i. e., of Christ). VERPLANCK, GULIAN CROM- MELIN, an American author; born in New York City, in 1786. He published anonymously in 1819 a brilliant satirical work', entitled: "The State of Triumvi- rate." In 1825 he was elected to Con- gress, and published, 1827-1830, conjoint* ly with William Cullen Bryant and Rob- ert C. Sands, a miscellany entitled "The Talisman." Among his other works are his address before the New York His- torical Society entitled "The Early Euro- pean Friends of America" (1818) ; "Es- says on the Nature and Uses of the Evi- dences of Revealed Religion" (1824); and "Discourses and Addresses on Sub- jects of American History, Art, and Lit- erature" (1833). In 1846 he brought out his edition of Shakespeare, with notes, esteemed one of the best that had ever appeared. He died in New York City, March 18, 1870. VERRAZANO, GIOVANNI DA, an Italian navigator; born near Florence presumably about 1480; joined the French maritime service in 1505 and soon became an experienced navigator. In 1512 he was employed by France as a privateer against Spanish merchant- men and made many captures. In 1523 he took the treasure ship sent by Cortes to Charles V., which contained plunder from Montezuma estimated at $1,500,000 in value. In January, 1524, he made an exploring expedition to North America, and after discovering land near Cape Fear sailed N. and entered either New York or Narragansett Bay. He then sailed 450 miles N. E. and returned to France. On July 8, 1524, he sent a let- ter to King Francis I., in which he claimed to have discovered 700 leagues of coast. Little is known of his subsequent- history. It is supposed that he was taken prisoner off the S. coast of Spain and executed as a pirate in Pico, New Castile, in November, 1527. VERRES, CAIUS, a Roman governor, notorious for his rapacity and cruelty; born about 112 B. c. He was quaestor in 82, and city prsetor at Rome in 74 B. C He was governor of Sicily in 73-71, and almost ruined that island by his extor- tions and vexatious measures, and by his plunder of property and art treasures. He was brought to trial and defended by Hortensius, while Cicero conducted the prosecution. The trial was one of the most celebrated in the history of Rome. Verres absconded before his trial ended and fled to Marseilles, where he remained in exile 27 years. He died about 42 B. C. VERROCCHIO, ANDREA DEL, an Italian sculptor and painter; born in Florence, Italy in 1435. First a gold-