A fuller biography of Veronese had to await "Le maraviglie dell’ Arte ovvero, Le vite degli Illustri Pittori Veneti and dello Stato" (1648), by Carlo Ridolfi, a compilation of the Venetian School painters. Ridolfi said that Veronese's painting of "The Feast in the House of Levi" (1573) is “by far, the most important source for our knowledge of his art,” because “it gave rein to joy, made beauty majestic, made laughter, itself, more festive.” Moreover, in "Paintings in the Louvre" (1987), Lawrence Gowing’s modern assessment of Paolo Veronese’s artistic achievement is that:  The French had no doubts, as the critic Théophile Gautier wrote in 1860, that Veronese was the greatest colorist who ever lived—greater than Titian, Rubens, or Rembrandt because he established the harmony of natural tones in place of the modelling in dark and light that remained the method of academic chiaroscuro. Delacroix wrote that Veronese made light without violent contrasts, "which we are always told is impossible, and maintained the strength of hue in shadow". This innovation could not be better described. Veronese’s bright outdoor harmonies enlightened and inspired the whole nineteenth century. He was the foundation of modern painting. But whether his style is in fact naturalistic, as the Impressionists thought, or a most subtle and beautiful imaginative invention must remain a question for each age to answer for itself. In addition to the ceiling creations and wall paintings, Veronese also produced altarpieces ("The Consecration of Saint Nicholas", 1561–62, London's National Gallery ), paintings on mythological subjects ("Venus and Mars", 1578, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art ), and portraits ("Portrait of a Lady", 1555, Louvre). A significant number of compositional sketches in pen, ink and wash, figure studies in chalk, and chiaroscuro modelli and ricordi survive. He headed a family workshop, including his younger brother Benedetto (1538–1598) as well as his sons Carlo and Gabriele, and his nephew Luigi Benfatto (also called dal Friso; 1559–1611), that remained active for a decade or so after his death in Venice in 1588, signing their work "Haeredes Pauli" ("Heirs of Paolo"), and continuing to use his drawings.