Veronese Preserv’d

To the Editors:

In my review of Cynthia Saltzman’s Plunder: Napoleon’s Theft of Veronese’s Feast [NYR, October 21], which focuses on the looting of Veronese’s The Wedding at Cana in 1797–1798, I omitted to mention the superb reproduction of the painting in Palladio’s refectory at the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. Commissioned by the Fondazione Giorgio Cini with the cooperation of the Louvre, it was created digitally by the Madrid workshop Factum Arte and installed in 2007. As readers have reminded me, the reproduction is an extraordinary achievement, created with scrupulous attention to color and line—and even to the damage to the canvas over time. The original is in the Louvre, but the facsimile effectively recreates the impact of the painting in its original setting. If you are lucky enough to be in Venice, go and see it.

Jenny Uglow
Canterbury, England