On July 18, 1573 Veronese appeared before the Inquisition accused of heresy for a painting of the holy supper. The accusation, which denounced the presence of profane elements in a religious painting, put on the table the debate on the interpretation of biblical scenes. Forced by circumstances, but driven by cunning, Veronese found a way out with a procedure unusual at the time: he titled the painting Supper at Levi's House, referring to a minor episode in the Gospels, so that the blasphemy was diluted. Thus, by the magic of the written text, the painting completely changed its meaning without retouching anything that was represented in it.

In the 19th century, this collision of Veronese with the Inquisition became a model of the confrontation between the artist and the ecclesiastical power, which allowed to address the dialogue between the sacred and the profane. We now know that the solution that Veronese found to satisfy the inquisitors meant an innovation in resolving dogmatic conflicts with the Church, as well as a substantial change in the field of artistic interpretation.