57 Paintings of The Naval Battle of Lepanto, 1571. Christian forces of the Holy League and the Ottoman Turks

Paolo Veronese, (1528–1588)
The Battle of Lepanto, c. 1572
oil, canvas
Dimensions: 137 x 169 cm
Accademia of Venice, Venice, northern Italy

The Allegory of the Battle of Lepanto is a painting by Paolo Veronese. The lower half of the painting shows the events of the battle of Lepanto, whilst at the top a female personification of Venice is presented to the Virgin Mary, with Saint Roch, Saint Peter, Saint Justina, Saint Mark and a group of angels in attendance  implore the Virgin to grant victory to the Christian fleet. In answer to this an angel hurls burning arrows at the Turkish vessels. - as a whole, the painting presents the victory as divine intervention. More on The Allegory of the Battle of Lepanto

This small painting, originally placed on the left of the altar of the Rosary in the church of St. Peter Martyr on Murano, is probably an ex-voto commissioned by Pietro Giustinian of Murano who took part in the naval battle at Lepanto on October 7th 1571 when the Turkish fleet was defeated thanks mainly to the Venetian ships. More on this painting

Paolo Veronese, (1528–1588)
Detail; The Battle of Lepanto, c. 1572
The lower half

Paolo Caliari, known as Paolo Veronese (1528 – 19 April 1588) was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, most famous for large history paintings of both religious and mythological subjects, such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi. With Titian, who was at least a generation older, and Tintoretto, ten years older, he was one of the "great trio that dominated Venetian painting of the cinquecento" or 16th-century late Renaissance. Veronese is known as a supreme colorist, and after an early period with Mannerist influence turned to a more naturalist style influenced by Titian.

He has always been appreciated for "the chromatic brilliance of his palette, the splendor and sensibility of his brushwork, the aristocratic elegance of his figures, and the magnificence of his spectacle", but his work has been felt "not to permit expression of the profound, the human, or the sublime", and of the "great trio" he has often been the least appreciated by modern criticism. Nonetheless, "many of the greatest artists ... may be counted among his admirers, including Rubens, Watteau, Tiepolo, Delacroix and Renoir". More on Paolo Veronese

The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement taking place on 7 October 1571 in which a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of European Catholic maritime states arranged by Pope Pius V, led by Spanish admiral Don Juan of Austria and mostly financed by the Spanish Empire, decisively defeated the fleet of the Ottoman Empire on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth, off western Greece. The Ottoman forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto (Turkish: İnebahtı) met the Holy League forces, which came from Messina, Sicily, where they had previously gathered.

Jenichen, Balthasar
Map of the Eastern Mediterranean location of the Battle of Lepanto 1571
Etching
243 x 358 mm; Mount: 405 mm x 557 mm
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Balthasar Jenichen (printmaker; German; Male; 1560 fl. - 1599 died) was an Engraver. Began his career in the workshop of Virgil Solis; after Solis's death in 1562, he married his widow and carried on the shop until his own death. More on Balthasar Jenichen

Luca Cambiaso, (18 November 1527 – 6 September 1585) 
Batall of Lepanto
Monastery of El Escorial

Luca Cambiasi, also known as Luca Cambiaso and Luca Cangiagio (18 November 1527 – 6 September 1585) was an Italian painter and draftsman and the leading artist in Genoa in the 16th century. He is considered the founder of the Genoese school who established the local tradition of historical fresco painting through his many decorations of Genoese churches and palaces. He produced a number of poetic night scenes. He was a prolific draughtsman who sometimes reduced figures to geometric (even cubic) forms. He was familiarly known as Lucchetto da Genova. More on Luca Cambiaso

The victory of the Holy League prevented the Ottoman Empire from expanding further along the European side of the Mediterranean. Lepanto was the last major naval battle in the Mediterranean fought entirely between galleys and has been assigned great symbolic and historical importance by several historians.

El Greco, (1541–1614)
 Portrait of Pope Pius V , circa 1600-1610
Oil on canvas

Doménikos Theotokópoulos (1541 – 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco; Spanish for "The Greek", was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. The nickname "El Greco" refers both to his Greek origin and Spanish citizenship. The artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters.

El Greco was born in Crete, which was at that time part of the Republic of Venice, and the center of Post-Byzantine art. He trained and became a master within that tradition before traveling at age 26 to Venice, as other Greek artists had done. In 1570 he moved to Rome, where he opened a workshop and executed a series of works. During his stay in Italy, El Greco enriched his style with elements of Mannerism and of the Venetian Renaissance. In 1577, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked until his death. In Toledo, El Greco received several major commissions and produced his best-known paintings.

El Greco's dramatic and expressionistic style was met with puzzlement by his contemporaries but found appreciation in the 20th century. El Greco is regarded as a precursor of both Expressionism and Cubism, while his personality and works were a source of inspiration for poets and writers. El Greco has been characterized by modern scholars as an artist so individual that he belongs to no conventional school. He is best known for tortuously elongated figures and often fantastic or phantasmagorical pigmentation, marrying Byzantine traditions with those of Western painting. More on El Greco

The Christian coalition had been promoted by Pope Pius V to rescue the Venetian colony of Famagusta, on the island of Cyprus, which was being besieged by the Turks in early 1571 subsequent to the fall of Nicosia and other Venetian possessions in Cyprus in the course of 1570.


Antonio Pinargenti
The siege of Famagusta, c. 1573

The siege of Famagusta depicted by Pinargenti in 1573. The Port was well defended by the Castle (Castello), and the North side by the Martinengo bastion. The Turks attacked the South side between the Arsenal tower, next to the sea, and the ravelin that protected the Land door, and the South side of the Western walls. The numerical superiority of the Ottoman army, that continuously received reinforcements, was astonishing, demonstrating the level of resources that the Ottoman empire was capable of mobilizing at the peak of its power, and that for many decades hid the decadence that its army had already entered. Had Famagusta received the timely reinforcements many times promised, the siege could have prolonged for years, but it is doubtful that Cyprus could have been recovered, as unlike in Malta, the Ottoman army could hold to what they had already conquered, and the Venetian economy did not allow for prolonged wars, while the Ottoman Empire was designed for constant war.​ More on The siege of Famagusta

Unknown artist
Ottoman-Venetian War Battle of Famagusta, c. 1571
More on this painting

Conrad Grunenberg, (before 1442 † 1494)
View of Famagusta in the 1480
Manuscript on paper
32 x 21.5 cm
More on this painting

Conrad Grunenberg (Konrad Green Mountain, * before 1442 † 1494) was an eminent citizen and knight from a patrician family from Konstanz, located on Lake Constance in southwestern Germany. There is no evidence for the exact date of his birth or death. His name first appears when he is mentioned as a builder commissioned by the town of Konstanz in 1442. Grünenberg occupied himself with heraldry and composed an armorial that came to bear his name. Several copies later were produced from Grünenberg’s original autograph copy, one of which is this splendid manuscript from the Bavarian State Library. Grünenberg was a member of the town council of Konstanz in 1454–62 and several times was elected mayor. In 1465 he and his brother John were appointed to serve Emperor Frederick III. From 1468 onwards he bore the title of a knight. On April 22, 1486, Grünenberg reportedly left on a pilgrimage to Palestine. The Habsburg medal of Saint George is said to have decorated his coat of arms. Grünenberg’s armorial includes illustrations, with explanatory text, of the coats of arms of heroes, Roman kings and emperors, electors, dukes, free cities, European princes, non-European princes and colonies, other high nobility, and tournaments and tournament societies, as well as various legendary coats of arms. More on Conrad Grunenberg

Seyyid Lokman
 Extraction of the land troops from  Limassol, in Cyprus,  by the Ottoman navy, c. 1571-81
Topkapı Palace Museum Library

The banner for the fleet, blessed by the Pope, reached the Kingdom of Naples (then ruled by the King of Spain) on 14 August 1571. There, in the Basilica of Santa Chiara, it was solemnly consigned to John of Austria, who had been named leader of the coalition after long discussions between the allies. The fleet moved to Sicily and leaving Messina reached (after several stops) the port of Viscardo in Cephalonia, where news arrived of the fall of Famagusta and of the torture inflicted by the Turks on the Venetian commander of the fortress, Marco Antonio Bragadin.

Unknown
Lala Mustafa Pasha, the Ottoman Grand Vizier
Oil Painting
University of Kyrenia

On 1 August, the Venetians had surrendered after being reassured that they could leave Cyprus freely. However, the Ottoman commander, Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha, who had lost some 50,000 men in the siege, broke his word, imprisoning the Venetians. On 17 August, Bragadin was flayed alive and his corpse hung on Mustafa's galley together with the heads of the Venetian commanders, Astorre Baglioni, Alvise Martinengo and Gianantonio Querini


 Seyyid Lokman
Lala Mustafa Pasha’s execution of Venetian commanders
Topkapi Sarai Museum

Seyyid Lokman was an Ottoman historian, and manuscript illustrator.

Lala Mustafa Pasha (c. 1500 – 7 August 1580), also known by the additional epithet Kara, was an Ottoman and Bosnian general and Grand Vizier from the Sanjak of Bosnia.

He was born around 1500 in Bosnia to a Christian family, the younger brother of Deli Husrev Pasha, who apparently helped him rise through the system's ranks more quickly.

Mustafa Pasha briefly served as kaymakam (acting governor) of Egypt Eyalet in 1549. He had risen to the position of Beylerbeyi of Damascus and then to that of Fifth Vizier.

The honorific "Lala" means "tutor to the Sultan"; he was tutor to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent's sons, including Şehzade Bayezid. He also had a long-standing feud with his cousin, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha.

He commanded the Ottoman land forces during the conquest of previously Venetian Cyprus in 1570/71, and in the campaign against Georgia and Persia in 1578. During the campaign on Cyprus, Lala Mustafa Pasha, who was known for his cruelty towards vanquished opponents. 

In the final three months of his life, he was Grand Vizier from 28 April 1580 until his death. He is buried in the courtyard of the Eyüp Sultan Mosque in Istanbul. His tomb was designed by Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. More on Lala Mustafa Pasha 

Pieter Mulier the Elder, (1600/15-1659)
Fresh breeze in the Mediterranean, ca. 1640s
Oil on canvas
H 64.8 x W 171.5 cm
London, National Maritime Museum

Several ships have been depicted sailing through a squall. In the foreground to the right a Mediterranean vessel forges into the picture plane on a wind blowing abeam from left to right. It appears to be flying an Algerine flag. Surprisingly, in that case, this craft bears a prominent image of Saint Peter on the stern. This may indicate that it was a captured vessel. Figures can be seen leaning over the side. On the left a ship bears the tricolour flag of the Netherlands at the main, while the ship on the right flies a red flag with indistinct markings but possibly an English red ensign from the stern and main. Other shipping, including smaller coastal craft, can be seen in the background. Colossal, blue-toned mountains are shown in the background, on the left, and a walled fortification stands on an outcrop. These mountains are unmistakably Italian and reminiscent of the Ligurian coast. More on this painting

Pieter Mulier I (ca.1610, Haarlem – 1659, Haarlem), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. According to the RKD he married in 1635, and became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke in 1638. He is known for Italianate landscapes and seascapes in the manner of Simon de Vlieger and Jan van Goyen. More on Pieter Mulier I

Despite bad weather, the Christian ships sailed south and, on 6 October, they reached the port of Sami, Cephalonia (then also called Val d'Alessandria), where they remained for a while. On 7 October, they sailed toward the Gulf of Patras, where they encountered the Ottoman fleet. While neither fleet had immediate strategic resources or objectives in the gulf, both chose to engage. The Ottoman fleet had an express order from the Sultan to fight, and John of Austria found it necessary to attack in order to maintain the integrity of the expedition in the face of personal and political disagreements within the Holy League.

The members of the Holy League were the Republic of Venice, the Spanish Empire (including the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Sardinia as part of the Spanish possessions), the Papal States, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Duchy of Urbino, the Knights Hospitaller and others. 

Alonso Sánchez Coello, (1532–1588)
Don Juan de Austria armado
Oil on canvas
99 × 85 cm (39 × 33.5 in)
Convent of Las Descalzas Reales

Alonso Sánchez Coello (Portuguese: Alonso Sanches Coelho 1531 – 8 August 1588) was a Spanish portrait painter, of Portuguese origin, of the Spanish Renaissance and one of the pioneers of the great tradition of Spanish portrait painting. More on Alonso Sánchez Coello

John of Austria (24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was an illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Philip II of Spain, and is best known for his role as the admiral of the Holy Alliance fleet at the Battle of Lepanto. More on John of Austria

Its fleet consisted of 206 galleys and 6 galleasses (large new galleys, invented by the Venetians, which carried substantial artillery) and was commanded by Spanish admiral Don John of Austria (above), the illegitimate son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire, and half-brother of Philip II of Spain, supported by the Spanish commanders Don Luis de Requesens (see Below), and Don Álvaro de Bazán (see Below), and Genoan commander Gianandrea Doria (see Below).

Titian, (1490–1576)
Portrait of Philip II of Spain (1527-1598), Date 1551
Oil on canvas
193 × 111 cm (76 × 43.7 in)
Prado Museum

Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, or Titian (1488/1490 – 27 August 1576), was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno (in Veneto, Republic of Venice). During his lifetime he was often called da Cadore, taken from the place of his birth.

Recognized by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars", Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of color, would exercise a profound influence not only on painters of the Italian Renaissance, but on future generations of Western art.

During the course of his long life, Titian's artistic manner changed drastically but he retained a lifelong interest in color. Although his mature works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his early pieces, their loose brushwork and subtlety of tone are without precedent in the history of Western painting. More on Titian

Philip II (21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598), was the son of Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, Philip inherited his father's Spanish Empire in 1556 and succeeded to the Portuguese throne in 1580 following a dynastic crisis. The Spanish conquests of the Inca Empire and of the Philippines, named in his honor by Ruy López de Villalobos, were completed during his reign. Under Philip II, Spain reached the height of its influence and power, sometimes called the Spanish Golden Age, and ruled territories in every continent then known to Europeans. Philip led a highly debt-leveraged regime, seeing state defaults in 1557, 1560, 1569, 1575, and 1596. This policy was partly the cause of the declaration of independence that created the Dutch Republic in 1581. Philip finished building the royal palace El Escorial in 1584.

Deeply devout, Philip saw himself as the defender of Catholic Europe against the Ottoman Empire and the Protestant Reformation. In 1584, Philip signed the Treaty of Joinville funding the French Catholic League over the following decade in its civil war against the French Huguenots. In 1588, he sent an armada to invade Protestant England, with the strategic aim of overthrowing Elizabeth I and re-establishing Catholicism there, but his fleet was defeated in a skirmish at Gravelines (northern France) and then destroyed by storms as it circled the British Isles to return to Spain. The following year Philip's naval power was able to recover after the failed invasion of the English Armada into Spain. Two more Spanish armadas unsuccessfully tried to invade England in 1596 and 1597. The Anglo-Spanish war carried on until 1604, six years after Philip's death.

Under Philip, an average of about 9,000 soldiers were recruited from Spain each year, rising to as many as 20,000 in crisis years. Between 1567 and 1574, nearly 43,000 men left Spain to fight in Italy and the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) More on Philip II

Spanish Court Painter
Portrait of Luis de Requesens y Zuniga (1527–1576) 
Grand Commander of Castile and Governor of Milan and the Spanish Netherlands
Oil on canvas
65 x 52.7 cm
Palais Dorotheum Wien

Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga (born August 25, 1528, Barcelona, Spain—died March 5, 1576, Brussels, Spanish Netherlands [now in Belgium]), Spanish governor of the Netherlands during one phase (1573–76) of the Dutch revolt called the Eighty Years’ War. Succeeding the tyrannical Fernando Álvarez, duque de Alba, he tried unsuccessfully to compromise with the rebellious provinces.

In 1563 he gained King Philip II’s confidence as his representative at Rome. In 1568 he was made lieutenant general to Don Juan de Austria during the suppression of the Morisco revolt in Granada. He also accompanied Don Juan in the Lepanto campaign, his function being to control his nominal commander in chief, whose excitable temperament was distrusted by the king. Philip then named him viceroy in Milan, where he was credited with having shown moderation, though he came into sharp collision with the archbishop Charles Borromeo, who had him excommunicated.

Requesens arrived in Brussels on November 17, 1573, having been sent to govern the Spanish Netherlands because the king wished to pursue a more conciliatory policy after the disastrous policy of repression of the duque de Alba. Requesens urged a general pardon, the dissolution of the Council of Troubles, and the abolition of the sales tax; he also wanted to call the States General in order to negotiate with the rebels. Philip, however, refused to yield any of the essential points in dispute between him and the rebels; and the Netherlanders themselves were scarcely in a conciliatory mood. Thus, although Requesens did publish a general pardon (June 5, 1574) and offered to exchange the sales tax for a subsidy, he ultimately fell back again on the army, with considerable success, though the frequently unpaid Spanish troops were often more inclined to mutiny and to plunder the civilian population. More on Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga

Rafael Tegeo, (1798–1856)
Portrait of Don Alvaro de Bazan (1526-1588), c. 1828
Oil on canvas
Height: 70 cm (27.6 in). Width: 56 cm (22 in).
Naval Museum in Madrid

Rafael Tegeo Díaz (27 November 1798, Caravaca de la Cruz - 3 October 1856, Madrid) was a Spanish Neoclassical painter, known primarily for his portraits. His name is sometimes spelled Tejeo. He was born to a family of artisans. After displaying an early affinity for drawing, he was enrolled at the "Real Sociedad de Amigos del País" in Murcia. Later, he was able to attend the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, where he studied with José Aparicio and Fernando Brambila.

In 1824, he received a stipend to study in Rome with Pietro Benvenuti and Vincenzo Camuccini, among others. While there, he was heavily influenced by the works of Raphael and Guido Reni. He sent numerous paintings home for exhibition and, in 1828, he was named an "Academician" for his painting of Hercules and Antaeus.

Initially, he concentrated on themes from mythology. He also did the occasional historical scene, notably an episode from the Siege of Málaga in the Palacio Real. Ultimately, though, he achieved his greatest fame through his portraits. 

In 1839, he was appointed Deputy Director of painting at the Academia and, three years later, became Honorary Director, a position he held until his resignation in 1846. His last major exhibition was at the Exposition Universelle (1855).

The street where he was born was renamed in his honor. In 2015, the Ayuntamiento de Caravaca announced the forthcoming publication of a new book, Rafael Tegeo: Del tema clásico al retrato romántico, by Martín Páez Burruezo. More on Rafael Tegeo Díaz

Álvaro de Bazán, Marqués de Santa Cruz, (born Dec. 12, 1526, Granada, Spain—died Feb. 9, 1588, Lisbon, Port.), the foremost Spanish naval commander of his day. He was prominent in many successful naval engagements in a century that saw Spain rise to the zenith of its power and was the first proponent and planner of the Spanish Armada, the fleet that was to attempt the invasion of England shortly after his death. More on Álvaro de Bazán

Sebastiano del Piombo, (1485–1547) 
Portrait of Andrea Doria, circa 1526
Oil on panel
Height: 153 cm (60.2 in). Width: 107 cm (42.1 in).
Villa del Principe, Genoa

Sebastiano del Piombo (c. 1485 – 21 June 1547), byname of Sebastiano Luciani, was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerist periods famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the coloring of the Venetian school in which he was trained with the monumental forms of the Roman school.

His nickname derived from the lucrative Papal appointment as Keeper of the Seal, which he held from 1531. Never a very disciplined or productive painter, his artistic productivity fell still further after this, which committed him to attend on the pope most days, and travel with him. He now painted mostly portraits, and relatively few works of his survive compared to his great contemporaries in Rome. This limited his involvement with the Mannerist style of his later years.

Having achieved success as a lutanist when young, he turned to painting and trained with Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione. When he first went to Rome he worked with Raphael and then became one of the few painters to get on well with Michelangelo, who tried to promote his career by encouraging to compete for commissions against Raphael. More on Sebastiano del Piombo

Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (30 November 1466 – 25 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, condottiero, and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime.

As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Republic's constitution. Originally elected for life, the Doge's office was reduced to two years. At the same time plebeians were declared ineligible, and the appointment of the doge was entrusted to the members of the great and the little councils. His reformed constitution of the Republic of Genoa would last until the end of the republic in 1797.

From 1528 until his death, Doria exercised a predominant influence in the councils of the Genoese republic. He is also considered the foremost naval leader of his time.

Several ships were named in honour of the admiral, the most famous being the Italian passenger liner SS Andrea Doria, launched in 1951, which sank following a collision in 1956. More on Andrea Doria

The Holy League deployed 206 galleys and 6 galleasses. All members of the alliance viewed the Ottoman navy as a significant threat, both to the security of maritime trade in the Mediterranean Sea and to the security of continental Europe itself. Spain was the largest financial contributor, though the Spaniards preferred to preserve most of their galleys for Spain's own wars against the nearby sultanates of the Barbary Coast rather than expend its naval strength for the benefit of Venice.The combined Christian fleet was placed under the command of John of Austria (Don Juan de Austria) (above) with Marcantonio Colonna as his principal deputy (below). The various Christian contingents met the main force, that of Venice (under Venier), in July and August 1571 at Messina, Sicily. John of Austria arrived on 23 August.

PULZONE, Scipione, (b. 1544, Gaeta, d. 1598, Roma)
Portrait of Marcantonio Colonna, c. 1575
Oil on canvas
202 x 119 cm
Galleria Colonna, Rome

Scipione Pulzone (1544 – February 1, 1598), also known as Il Gaetano, was a Neapolitan painter of the late Italian Renaissance. His work differs in several respects from the Mannerist predominant at the time. He was active mainly in Rome, but also worked in Naples and Florence. It is thought that he studied under Jacopino del Conte in Rome.

Best known for his portraits, Pulzone painted Pope Gregory XIII, Cardinal de' Medici and Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Eleanor de' Medici, and Marie de' Medici. He also painted an Assumption with the Apostles for San Silvestro al Quirinale; a Pietà for the Gesù; and a Crucifixion for Santa Maria in Vallicella.

Pulzone's Mater Divinae Providentiae, painted around 1580, inspired the Roman Catholic cult of devotion to Our Lady of Providence. More on Scipione Pulzone

Marcantonio II Colonna (1535 – August 1, 1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo and Duke and Prince of Paliano, was a Roman aristocrat who served as a Viceroy of Sicily in the service of the Spanish Crown, Spanish general, and Captain General of the Church. He is best remembered for his part as the admiral of the Papal fleet in the Battle of Lepanto.

Marcantonio Colonna was a member of the noble Colonna family of the Lazio, then one of the most powerful feudal dynasties of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Sicily, which was under Spanish rule. 

Due to acts of rebellion, he was disinherited by his father; but in 1562 Colonna was able to regain the family fiefs for himself, largely thanks to the support of Pope Pius IV. However, he had to forfeit several possessions.

In 1553–1554, during the war against Siena, Colonna was made commander of the Spanish cavalry. At the Battle of Lepanto (7 October 1571), he commanded the papal Capitana (flagship) as part of the Centre division, where he rescued the flagship of commander Don John of Austria, the Real. When the Real was almost taken by the Ottoman janissaries, Colonna came alongside with the bow of his galley and mounted a counter-attack. With the help of Colonna, the Turks were pushed off the Real and the Ottoman flagship of Ali Pasha was boarded and swept. The entire crew of Ali Pasha's flagship was killed, including the commander himself. The banner of the Holy League was hoisted on the captured ship, breaking the morale of the Turkish galleys nearby. 

In 1577 King Philip II named Colonna as Viceroy of Sicily. He was also Lord of Marino, then a village a few miles south of Rome, where the inhabitants honoured him with a great annual feast which still takes place today, under the name of "Sagra dell'uva". More on Marcantonio II Colonna

This fleet of the Christian alliance was manned by 40,000 sailors and oarsmen. In addition, it carried approximately 20,000 fighting troops: 7,000 Spanish regular infantry of excellent quality, 7,000 Germans and 6,000 Italian mercenaries in Spanish pay, all good troops, in addition to 5,000 professional Venetian soldiers. Also, Venetian oarsmen were mainly free citizens and were able to bear arms adding to the fighting power of their ship, whereas convicts were used to row many of the galleys in other Holy League squadrons.

The Holy League banner used at the Battle of Lepanto (1571)

Many of the galleys in the Ottoman fleet were also rowed by slaves, often Christians who had been captured in previous conquests and engagements. Free oarsmen were generally acknowledged to be superior by all combatants, but were gradually replaced in all galley fleets (including those of Venice from 1549) during the 16th century by cheaper slaves, convicts and prisoners-of-war owing to rapidly rising costs.

Attributed to Andries van Eertvelt, (1590–1652)
Coastal landscape with warship under papal flag and a Dutch sloop, circa 1620/1630
Oil on panel
40 × 68 cm (15.7 × 26.8 in)
Privately Held

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver who was one of the first Flemish artists to specialize in marine art. He was born in Antwerp and baptized in the Antwerp. There is no record of the masters with whom he trained. He was registered as a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1609. He travelled together with one of his pupils, Matthieu van Plattenberg, to Italy. Van Eertvelt is documented in Genoa from 1628–1630, where he lived with his compatriot Cornelis de Wael, who also practiced marine art, in particular the depiction of sea battles. Cornelis de Wael was a long-term resident of Genoa and arranged work for van Eervelt during his stay there.

Van Eertvelt had a very successful career as a marine artists and some of his works were exported to markets in Spain and Portugal. He also had an eager clientele in the Dutch Republic. He was remembered as a "son of the seas" by the Flemish 17th century biographer Cornelis de Bie. Van Eertvelt also appears to have engaged in diplomatic activity. He took some letters relating to a possible peace treaty between Spain and the Dutch Republic from Balthazar Gerbier, an Anglo-Dutch diplomat residing in Antwerp, to Constantijn Huygens, the secretary to the Prince of Orange, in the Dutch Republic. More on Andries van Eertvelt

Unknown artist
 The ships of the Holy League fleet anchored in the Straits of Messina

El Greco
Adoration of the Name of Jesus and the Holy League, 1579-1582
Allegory of the Holy League
Oil and tempera on pine
57.8 by 34.2 centimeters,
Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial

The figures that we see in the foreground are Philip II, the doge of Venice Alvise Mocenigo - back with the yellow robe - and Pope Pius V with two of his cardinals. The three characters signed an alliance in the name of Christ against the Turkish Empire, which led to the victory in the  Battle of Lepanto in 1571, so it also appears Don Juan de Austria , with Pope, idealized as a Roman general. In the top of the canvas it is written in capital letters the name of Jesus - IHS diagrammed in Latin Man Christ Jesus Salvador - surrounded by angels who form a circle. The lower zone is completed by the mouth of Leviathan or Hell, which may represent the paganism of the Turks. More on this painting

Doménikos Theotokópoulos (1541 – 7 April 1614), El Greco, see above

El Greco
Adoration of the Name of Jesus and the Holy League, 1579-1582
Allegory of the Holy League
Bottom Detail

The Ottoman galleys were manned by 13,000 experienced sailors—generally drawn from the maritime nations of the Ottoman Empire, namely Berbers, Greeks, Syrians, and Egyptians—and 34,000 soldiers. Ali Pasha, the Ottoman admiral (Kapudan-i Derya) (below), supported by the corsairs Mehmed Siroco (natively Mehmed Şuluk)  (below), of Alexandria and Uluç Ali (below), commanded an Ottoman force of 222 war galleys, 56 galliots, and some smaller vessels. The Turks had skilled and experienced crews of sailors but were significantly deficient in their elite corps of Janissaries. The number of oarsmen was about 37,000, virtually all of them slaves.

 Anonymous German broadsheet
Müezzinzade Ali Pasha, the Turkish commander at the Battle of Lepanto., c. 1571
Woodcut with stencil and hand colouring on laid paper with letterpress.
Victoria and Albert Museum

"Müezzinzade Ali Pasha is shown full length, wearing a kaftan of costly woven, figured silks. His exotic clothes, turban and long feathery headdress denote his high rank. Although he is shown alive, in the background is a detail of his head on the end of a pole. Behind Ali Pasha is the Turkish (Ottoman) flagship on which he was wounded and subsequently beheaded."

Müezzinzade Ali Pasha (also known as Sofu Ali Pasha or Sufi Ali Pasha or Meyzinoğlu Ali Pasha; died 7 October 1571) was an Ottoman statesman and naval officer. He was the Grand Admiral (Kapudan Pasha) in command of the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto, where he was killed in action. He also served as the governor of Egypt from 1563 to 1566. More on Müezzinzade Ali Pasha

Unknown artist
Sokollu Mehmet Paşa (1506 - 1579)
I have no further description, at this time

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (1506 – 11 October 1579) was an Ottoman statesman most notable for being the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Born in Ottoman Herzegovina into an Orthodox Christian Serbian family, Mehmed was abducted at an early age as part of the Ottoman devşirme system of forcibly recruiting Christian boys to be raised to serve as a janissary. He rose through the ranks of the Ottoman imperial system, eventually holding positions as commander of the imperial guard.

Although Sokullu was Muslim, he remembered his Serbian Orthodox roots and his family. He persuaded the Sultan to restore the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć as a "gesture of reconciliation". He appointed members of his family (both Muslim and Christian) to important positions in Ottoman Empire, including Makarije Sokolović, Ferhad Pasha Sokolović, Sinan-beg Boljanić, Sokolluzade Lala Mehmed Pasha and Lala Mustafa Pasha

On 11 October 1579, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was assassinated. Ending his near 15-year rule serving as the sultan sole legal representative in the administration of state affairs. More on Sokollu Mehmed Pasha

 Uluç Ali

Occhiali (1519 – 21 June 1587) was an Italian farmer, then Ottoman privateer and admiral, who later became beylerbey of the Regency of Algiers, and finally Grand Admiral (Kapudan Pasha) of the Ottoman fleet in the 16th century.

Born Giovanni Dionigi Galeni, he was also known by several other names in the Christian countries of the Mediterranean and in the literature also appears under various names. Miguel de Cervantes called him Uchali in chapter XXXIX of his Don Quixote de la Mancha. Elsewhere he was simply called Ali Pasha. John Wolf, in his The Barbary Coast, refers to him as Euldj Ali. More on Occhiali

An advantage for the Christians was their numerical superiority in guns and cannon aboard their ships, as well as the superior quality of the Spanish infantry.[ It is estimated that the Christians had 1,815 guns, while the Turks had only 750 with insufficient ammunition. The Christians embarked with their much improved arquebusier and musketeer forces, while the Ottomans trusted in their greatly feared composite bowmen.

The Battle of Lepanto, fought in 1571, a great victory for the Holy League against the the Ottoman Empire
Prisoner's drawings on their cell walls
Museum of the Holy Inquisition in Sicily

The left and centre galleasses had been towed half a mile ahead of the Christian line. When the battle started, the Turks mistook the galleasses for merchant supply vessels and set out to attack them. This proved to be disastrous; with their many guns, the galleasses alone were said to have sunk up to 70 Ottoman galleys before the Ottoman fleet left them behind. Their attacks also disrupted the Ottoman formations.

Unknown
Venetian galleas at the Battle of Lepanto
Etching
145 x 228 mm; Mount: 482 mm x 633 mm
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Andries van Eertvelt (Flemish, 1590–1652)
The Holy League's fleet lying off a harbour thought to be Genoa before the battle of Lepanto
Oil on canvas
95.3 x 139.7 in. (242.1 x 354.8 cm.)
Private collection

The Holy League's fleet lying off a harbour, thought to be Genoa, before the battle of Lepanto, with figures loading arms and armour onto a boat in the foreground with a dignitary looking on. More

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), see above

Attributed to Andries van Eertvelt (Flemish, 1590–1652)
A coastal scene with a warship flying the Papal warflag and a Dutch sloop before a harbour entrance , ca. 1608–1632
Oil on panel
39.9 x 68.6 cm. (15.7 x 27 in.)
Private collection

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), see above

Giorgio Vasari, (1511–1574)
The Battle of Lepanto, c. 1572
Fresco
Apostolic Palace, Rome

The combined Christian navel forces (Holy League) of Spain, Venice, and the Papacy defeated the Turkish fleet at Lepanto, October 7, 1571. Vasari was commissioned by Pope Pius to commemorate the event in the Sala Regia in the Vatican. The foreground includes an allegorical representation of the three Christian powers.

Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian painter, architect, writer, and historian, most famous today for his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.

Vasari was born in Arezzo, Tuscany. Recommended at an early age by his cousin Luca Signorelli, he became a pupil of Guglielmo da Marsiglia, a skillful painter of stained glass. Sent to Florence at the age of sixteen by Cardinal Silvio Passerini, he joined the circle of Andrea del Sarto and his pupils Rosso Fiorentino and Jacopo Pontormo where his humanist education was encouraged. He was befriended by Michelangelo whose painting style would influence his own. More on Giorgio Vasari


A Greek painting of the battle of Lepanto on a table, in the Orthodox icon style. The Greeks were already tired of Turkish domination and were now more receptive to Latins. The victory at Lepanto gave hope of liberation to many, and some raised in rebellion at the Venetian request, armed and supported by Venetian troops. After peace was concluded between the Porte and the Signoria, the Greek rebels were bloody massacred by the Turks, and the orthodox priests, held responsible under the Millet system, were usually hanged or burned. Once more, relations between Latins and Orthodox did not lead to love precisely. More

Ferrando Bertelli (born c. 1525) 
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
Description
Etching After fresco
Museo Storico Navale, Venice

This fresco depicts the Battle of Lepanto, where a combined Christian force crushed the Ottoman Navy - this particular painting occupies a prominent position at one end of the Hall of Maps, in the Vatican Museums, Rome. More on this work

Ferrando Bertelli (born c. 1525) was an Italian engraver of the Renaissance period. He was born in Venice. He engraved Omnium fere nentium, Sc. Ven. (1569); Christ curing the sick after Farinait (1530); The Crucifixion after Giulio Somalio; Venus and Cupid after Titian (1536); and Specchio della Vite Humana (1566). More on Ferrando Bertelli

Zundt, Matthias, (1498–1586)
The Battle of Lepanto, 1571
Etching
267 mm x 543 mm
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Matthias Zündt (sometimes Zynndt; 1498–1586) was a German engraver, born at Nuremberg. He worked with both the graver and point, and produced portraits, Scripture subjects, allegories, and crests. Brulliot mentions an etching with a mark supposed to be his; it represents a Vase with figures of Tritons, standing on sea-horses' feet, and surmounted by a figure of Neptune. More on Matthias Zündt

Circle of Andries van Eertvelt (1590–1652) 
The Battle of Lepanto, Date 1622
Oil on copper
44.4 × 70.8 cm (17.5 × 27.9 in)
Private collection

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), see above

Andries van Eertvelt (Flemish, 1590–1652)
The battle of Lepanto
Oil on copper
41 x 56.5 cm. (16.1 x 22.2 in.)

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), see above

Juan Luna (1857–1899)
Naval battle of Lepanto, c. 1887
Oil on canvas
550 × 350 cm (216.5 × 137.8 in)
Senate Palace (Spain)

Juan Novicio Luna (October 23, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recognized Philippine artists.

His winning the gold medal in the 1884 Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts, along with the silver win of fellow Filipino painter Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, prompted a celebration which was a major highlight in the memoirs of members of the Propaganda Movement, with the fellow Ilustrados toasting to the two painters' good health and to the brotherhood between Spain and the Philippines.

Regarded for work done in the manner of the Spanish, Italian and French academies of his time, Luna painted literary and historical scenes, some with an underscore of political commentary. His allegorical works were inspired with classical balance, and often showed figures in theatrical poses. More

Juan Luna (1857–1899)
Naval battle of Lepanto, c. 1887
Detail, showing Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616), was a Spanish writer who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists.

His major work, Don Quixote, considered to be the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written. In 1569, in forced exile from Castile, Cervantes moved to Rome, where he worked as chamber assistant of a cardinal. He then enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Barbary pirates. After five years of captivity, he was released by his captors on payment of a ransom by his parents and the Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order, and he subsequently returned to his family in Madrid. More

As the battle started, Doria found that Uluç Ali's galleys extended further to the south than his own, and so headed south to avoid being outflanked, instead of holding the Christian line. After the battle Doria was accused of having maneuvered his fleet away from the bulk of the battle to avoid taking damage and casualties. 

Andrea Vicentino, (1542–1617)
Battle of Lepanto, c. 1603
Oil on canvas
Doge's Palace

Andrea Vicentino (c. 1542 – 1617) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period. Born in Vicenza, he was also known as Andrea Michieli or Michelli. He moved to Venice in the mid-1570s and registered in the “Fraglia” or guild of Venetian painters in 1583. 

Andrea Vicentino, (1542–1617)
Battle of Lepanto, c. 1603
Detail, Left

He worked alongside Tintoretto at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, helping paint Arrival of Henry III at Venice (c. 1593) at the Sala delle Quattro Porte of the Ducal palace, as well as works in the Sala del Senato and dello Scrutinio. He also painted the altarpiece of Madonna of the Rosary (c. 1590) for the cathedral of Treviso, God the Father with Three Theological Virtues (1598) for the church in Gambara, and St Charles Borromeo (c. 1605) for a church in Mestre.Paintings by him exist in a number of galleries including the 'Raising of Lazarus' at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta, Malta. More

Andrea Vicentino, (1542–1617)
Battle of Lepanto, c. 1603
Detail, Left

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY/OUR LADY OF VICTORY


Unknown
Painting of the Battle of Lepanto of 1571
Oil on canvas
1270 mm x 2324 mm
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.

Some of the ships are labelled, including the galley of Gian' Andrea Doria (IL.GIO.ANDREA.DORIA), the commander of the Genoese squadron, and the flagship of the Genoese Negroni family (LA CAPITANIA DENEGRNI). In the right foreground is the galley of the Christian renegade Uluch-Ali, inscribed OCHIALLRE.DALGIERIFUGE.DALLABATTA.GLIA. (Ochiali, King of Algiers flies from the battle).

Flags on the Christian side include: the Lion of Venice, the red St George's cross of Genoa and the gold and silver standards of the Papal States, and a standard of Christ on the Cross alongside the Habsburg double-headed eagle on the flagship of John of Austria.

The flagship of Ali Pasha shows a flag with three crescents. The galley of Murat Reis flies a horizontal three-stripe ensign with a single crescent on the central bar directly above the stern of Uluch-Ali's. More

Regardless, he ended up being outmaneuvered by Uluç Ali, who turned back and attacked the southern end of the Centre Division, taking advantage of the big gap that Doria had left.


ATTRIBUTED TO JACOPO ROBUSTI CALLE TINTORETTO
THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO
OIL ON CANVAS
180 x 320 cm ; 70 7/8 by 126 in

Tintoretto; born Jacopo Comin, (October, 1518 – May 31, 1594) was an Italian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso. His work is characterized by its muscular figures, dramatic gestures, and bold use of perspective in the Mannerist style, while maintaining color and light typical of the Venetian School.

In his youth, Tintoretto was also known as Jacopo Robusti as his father had defended the gates of Padua in a way that others called robust, against the imperial troops during the War of the League of Cambrai (1509–1516). His real name "Comin" has only recently been discovered by Miguel Falomir, the curator of the Museo del Prado, Madrid, and was made public on the occasion of the retrospective of Tintoretto at the Prado in 2007. More

Antonio de Brugada, (1804 - 1863)
The naval battle of Lepanto between the Holy League and the Turks in 1571 (detail)
Oil on canvas
163 × 305 cm (64.2 × 120.1 in)
Museo Marítimo de Barcelona

Antonio Brugada (1804 Madrid – 1863 San Sebastian) was a Spanish painter. Brugada is best known for his dramatic seascapes. He was a friend of Francisco Goya, and was instrumental in cataloging, and identifying some of the mythological figures in Goya's c. 1823 "Black paintings" series. More

In the north, Mehmed Siroco had managed to get between the shore and the Christian North Division, with six galleys in an outflanking move, and initially the Christian fleet suffered. Commander Barbarigo was killed by an arrow, but the Venetians, turning to face the threat, held their line. The return of a galleass saved the Christian North Division.

Attributed to Andries van Eertvelt
ANTWERP 1590 - 1652
MARINE BATTLE BETWEEN TURKS AND CHRISTIANS
oil on canvas
124.5 by 231.2 cm.; 49 by 91 in
Privately Held

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), see above

The Christian Centre also held the line with the help of the Reserve, after taking a great deal of damage, and caused great damage to the Muslim Centre. In the south, off-shore side, Doria was engaged in a mêlée with Uluç Ali's ships, taking the worse part. Meanwhile, Uluç Ali himself commanded 16 galleys in a fast attack on the Christian Centre, taking six galleys—amongst them the Maltese Capitana, killing all but three men on board. Its commander, Pietro Giustiniani, Prior to the Order of St John, was severely wounded by five arrows, but was found alive in his cabin. The intervention of the Spaniards Álvaro de Bazán and Juan de Cardona with the reserve turned the battle, both in the Centre and in Doria's South Wing.

Antonio de Brugada (1804 - 1863)
The naval battle of Lepanto between the Holy League and the Turks in 1571 (detail)
Detail of Juan of Austria with armor

Antonio Brugada (1804 Madrid – 1863 San Sebastian), see above

Uluç Ali was forced to flee with 16 galleys and 24 galliots, abandoning all but one of his captures. During the course of the battle, the Ottoman Commander's ship was boarded and the Spanish tercios from 3 galleys and the Ottoman Janissaries from seven galleys fought on the deck of the Sultana. Twice the Spanish were repelled with heavy casualties, but at the third attempt, with reinforcements from Álvaro de Bazán's galley, they took the ship. Müezzinzade Ali Pasha was killed and beheaded, against the wishes of Don Juan. 

Antonio de Brugada (1804 - 1863)
The naval battle of Lepanto between the Holy League and the Turks in 1571 (detail)
Detail of a soldier with the head of Ali Pacha on the tip of the spear.

Antonio Brugada (1804 Madrid – 1863 San Sebastian), see above

However, when his severed head was displayed on a pike from the Spanish flagship, it contributed greatly to the destruction of Turkish morale. Even after the battle had clearly turned against the Turks, groups of Janissaries still kept fighting with all they had. It is said that at some point the Janissaries ran out of weapons and started throwing oranges and lemons at their Christian adversaries, leading to awkward scenes of laughter among the general misery of battle.

Giorgio Vasari, (1511–1574)
Battle of Lepanto

Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574), see above

The battle concluded around 4 pm. The Ottoman fleet suffered the loss of about 210 ships—of which 117 galleys, 10 galliots and three fustas were captured and in good enough condition for the Christians to keep. On the Christian side 20 galleys were destroyed and 30 were damaged so seriously that they had to be scuttled. One Venetian galley was the only prize kept by the Turks; all others were abandoned by them and recaptured.

Andreas Pedersen Brünnich (April 4, 1704 in Roskilde - 4 November 1769 
The Battle of Lepanto, c.1762
National Gallery of Denmark

Andreas Pedersen Brünnich (April 4, 1704 in Roskilde - 4 November 1769 in Copenhagen) was a Danish portrait painter, active in the period called either late Baroque or early Rococo. He came to Copenhagen, where he got a job with Bendix Grodtschilling the Younger and from 1737 at Johann Salomon Wahl's workshop. As his student, he was a much sought portrait painter in the capital, but also raised customers in many other provinces. He was also influenced by baroque masters such as Andreas Møller and Balthasar Denner and by rococo style under a more mature age influenced by Johan Hörner and CG Pilo. Brünniche was a skilled colorist, his ability to convincingly reproduce the tones of the sitter's skin and individualize the people portrayed made him popular and demanded especially among the local nobility. More

Uluç Ali, who had captured the flagship of the Maltese Knights, succeeded in extricating most of his ships from the battle when defeat was certain. He cut the tow on the Maltese flagship in order to get away and sailed to Constantinople, gathering up other Ottoman ships along the way and finally arriving there with 87 vessels. He presented the huge Maltese flag to Sultan Selim II who thereupon bestowed upon him the honorary title of "kιlιç" (Sword); Uluç thus became known as Kılıç Ali Pasha.

Jan Wyck, (1645–1700)
The Battle of Lepanto, 7 October 1571
Defence Academy of the United Kingdom

Jan Wyck (also Jan Wiyck, or Jan Wick) (29 October 1652 – 17 May 1702) was a Dutch baroque painter, best known for his works on military subjects. There are still over 150 of his works known to be in existence.

In an era when French artists dominated the genre, the arrival of Wyck and other Dutch and Flemish artists in Great Britain from 1660 onwards provided the catalyst for the development of military and naval art in Britain. Like other painters from the Low Countries such as Dirk Maas, Peter Tillemans and William van de Velde, Wyck moved to England and worked there throughout his life, often under royal patronage, producing many fine works of battle paintings, portraits, hunting scenes and landscapes as well as advancing the development of British art through teaching. More

Unknown
The battle of Lepanto, October 1571

The Holy League had suffered around 7,500 or soldiers, sailors and rowers dead, but freed about as many Christian prisoners. Ottoman casualties were around 15,000, and at least 3,500 were captured.

Andries van Eertvelt (1590–1652)
The Battle of Lepanto, 7 October 1571
Oil on Canvas
1435 mm x 2210 mm
Birmingham Museums Trust

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), see above

The engagement was a significant defeat for the Ottomans, who had not lost a major naval battle since the fifteenth century. The defeat was mourned by them as an act of Divine Will, contemporary chronicles recording that "the Imperial Fleet encountered the fleet of the wretched infidels and the will of God turned another way."[32] To half of Christendom, this event encouraged hope for the downfall of "the Turk", the Satan-like personification of the Ottoman Empire,[33] who was regarded as the "Sempiternal Enemy of the Christian". Indeed, the Empire lost all but 30 of its ships and as many as 20,000 men,[29] and some Western historians have held it to be the most decisive naval battle anywhere on the globe since the Battle of Actium of 31 BC.

Italian School
The Battle of Lepanto, circa 1600 - 1615 - 1618
Oil on canvas
2375 x 3916 mm (93 ½ x 154 in)
Ham House © National Trust

Despite the decisive defeat, the Ottoman Empire rebuilt its navy with a massive effort, by largely imitating the successful Venetian galeasses, in a very short time. By 1572, about six months after the defeat, more than 150 galleys and 8 galleasses, in total 250 ships had been built, including eight of the largest capital ships ever seen in the Mediterranean.

Tommaso Dolabella, 
Battle of Lepanto. (detail), c. 1632
Oil on canvas
305 × 651 cm (120.1 × 256.3 in)
Wawel Castle, Kraków, Poland

Tommaso Dolabella (Polish: Tomasz Dolabella; 1570 – 17 January 1650) was a Baroque Italian painter from Venice, who settled in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the royal court of King Sigismund III Vasa.

Active in the historical capital city of Kraków, where his huge canvas paintings were displayed in Gothic churches around the central districts, including the historical suburb of Kazimierz near the Vistula River. Only a few of them have survived, most notably in the local Dominican church and the Corpus Christi Basilica. He was later supported by Sigismund's son, Władysław IV Vasa. In Warsaw he opened a workshop for artists. Some of his paintings glorifying Poland over Russia, after Sigismund's successful military campaigns in Muscovy, were destroyed on the orders of Tsar Peter the Great. Most notably one of those paintings depicted Polish commander and Hetman, Stanisław Żółkiewski, leading a line of left over Russian prisoners after the Battle of Klushino, where the Polish army completely annihilated the enemy. More

With this new fleet the Ottoman Empire was able to reassert its supremacy in the Eastern Mediterranean. On 7 March 1573 the Venetians thus recognized by treaty the Ottoman possession of Cyprus, whose last Venetian possession, Famagosta, had fallen to the Turks under Piyale Pasha on 3 August 1571, just two months before Lepanto, and remained Turkish for the next three centuries, and that summer the Ottoman Navy attacked the geographically vulnerable coasts of Sicily and southern Italy.

Anonymous 17th century painting
The Battle of Lepanto , victory of the Holy League against the turkish fleet
Oil on canvas
depth 100 height 66 cm
E-museum, Furnish Your Castle

Sultan Selim II's Chief Minister, the Grand Vizier Mehmed Sokullu, argued to the Venetian emissary Marcantonio Barbaro that the Christian triumph at Lepanto caused no lasting harm to the Ottoman Empire, while the capture of Cyprus by the Ottomans in the same year was a significant blow, saying that: You come to see how we bear our misfortune. But I would have you know the difference between your loss and ours. In wresting Cyprus from you, we deprived you of an arm; in defeating our fleet, you have only shaved our beard. An arm when cut off cannot grow again; but a shorn beard will grow all the better for the razor.

Andries Van Eertvelt (Anvers, 1590 - 1652)
Combat naval de Lépante, 1623
Oil on canvas

Andries van Eertvelt (1590, Antwerp – 1652, Antwerp), see above

Numerous historians pointed out the historical importance of the battle and how it served as a turning point in history. For instance, it is argued that while the ships were relatively easily replaced, it proved much harder to man them, since so many experienced sailors, oarsmen and soldiers had been lost. The loss of so many of its experienced sailors at Lepanto sapped the fighting effectiveness of the Ottoman navy, a fact emphasized by its avoidance of major confrontations with Christian navies in the years following the battle. Other historians have suggested that the reason for the Turks being contained at the time had less to do with the battle of Lepanto than the fact that they had to contend with a series of wars with Persia, a strong military power at the time.

Johannes Lingelbach, (1622–1674)
A Sea Battle
 It is thought that the painting represents the naval battle of Lepanto (07 Sep 1571)
Oil on canvas
Height: 31 cm (12.2 in). Width: 40 cm (15.7 in).
Private collection

Johannes (or Johann) Lingelbach (1622–1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, associated with the second generation of Bambocciate, a group of genre painters working in Rome from 1625 - 1700. Lingelbach was born in Frankfurt, and in 1634 settled in Amsterdam. In the late 40s Johannes travelled to France and Italy. After returning to Amsterdam, around 1653, Johannes married. Around 1662 Lingelbach lived in Reestraat, a small street near Prinsengracht; he became a close friend of Jurriaen Ovens.

His work began to show an influence from Philips Wouwermans' landscapes. His skill in painting genre figures is no less accomplished in his depictions of architectural and natural objects. He was often invited to paint the figures and animals within other artists landscape pieces, such as the Dutch master landscape painter, Meindert Hobbema and Jan van der Heyden. His study of architectural forms came from observing the paintings of another Bamboccianti, Viviano Codazzi, an Architectural Vedutisti, or view painter.

Lingelbach followed the style of the original Bamboccianti, Pieter van Laer, called Il Bamboccio, bringing his own Italianate style into influence of Northern European painters. He is one of the few Dutch painters of the Bamboccianti, whose works are documented in depth, making his influence greater in the progression of the style. Some of his works in Rome were once attributed to Pieter van Laer, but are now rightfully claimed to be Lingelbach’s, such as his, Roman Street Scene with Card Players, (National Gallery). These works show the Italian influence of Caravaggio in their realism and refined chiaroscuro effect, also seen in works such as Lingelbach's, A mounteback and other figures before a locanda with a capriccio view of the Piazza del Popolo, Rome, (Royal Collection). Lingelbach died in Amsterdam. More

After 1580, the discouraged Ottomans left the fleet to rot in the waters of the Golden Horn. Especially critical was the loss of most of the caliphate's composite bowmen, which, far beyond ship rams and early firearms, were the Ottomans' main embarked weapon. US historian John F. Guilmartin noted that the losses in this highly specialized class of warrior were irreplaceable in a generation. Paul K. Davis has also stated that: This Turkish defeat stopped Ottomans' expansion into the Mediterranean, thus maintaining western dominance, and confidence grew in the west that Turks, previously unstoppable, could be beaten.

Wolfgang Zächenberger
The Battle of Lepanto

The victory for the Holy League was historically important not only because the Turks lost over 200 ships and 20,000 men killed (not including 12,000 Christian galley slaves who were freed), but because the victory heralded the end of Turkish supremacy in the Mediterranean.

The news reached Pius V early on October 22, and that morning he offered thanksgiving in St. Peter’s Basilica and spoke of his hopes of further success. Quarrels among the allies frustrated his ambitions, however. Pius V died in 1572, and Venice made peace in 1573, surrendering Cyprus to the Turks. Thus, the battle had little lasting impact on Ottoman expansion, but it exerted a great effect on European morale.

Unknown painter 
The Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571
Saint Pauls church, ANTWERP, BELGIUM

However, in 1574, the Ottomans retook the strategic city of Tunis from the Spanish-supported Hafsid dynasty, which had been re-installed after John of Austria's forces reconquered the city from the Ottomans the year before. Thanks to the long-standing Franco-Ottoman alliance, the Ottomans were able to resume naval activity in the western Mediterranean. In 1576, the Ottomans assisted in Abdul Malik's capture of Fez – this reinforced the Ottoman indirect conquests in Morocco that had begun under Suleiman the Magnificent. The establishment of Ottoman suzerainty over the area placed the entire southern coast of the Mediterranean from the Straits of Gibraltar to Greece under Ottoman authority, with the exceptions of the Spanish-controlled trading city of Oran and strategic settlements such as Melilla and Ceuta.

Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, or Titian (1488/1490 – 27 August 1576)
Philip II offering the Infante don Fernando to the Heavens, c. 1573 - 1575
ALLEGORY OF THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO
Oil on canvas
335 x 274 cm
 Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid


Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, or Titian (1488/1490 – 27 August 1576), see above

This painting commemorates events that took place in 1571: the defeat of the Turkish armada at Lepanto on October 7, and the birth of the infante Fernando, heir to the throne, on December 5th. The proximity of these two events led them to be viewed repeatedly as gifts from Heaven in circles close to the monarch.

Towards the top of the composition, a foreshortened angel offers a palm leaf and a ribbon with the inscription MAIORA TIBI (Greater triumphs await you) to the newborn child in his father’s arms. The Battle of Lepanto appears in the background, and a bound Turk is depicted alongside the spoils of victory to the left. More

Nonetheless, Spanish success in the Mediterranean continued into the first half of the 17th century. Spanish ships attacked the Anatolian coast, defeating larger Ottoman fleets at the Battle of Cape Celidonia and the Battle of Cape Corvo. Larache and La Mamora, in the Moroccan Atlantic coast, and the island of Alhucemas, in the Mediterranean, were taken, but during the second half of the 17th century, Larache and La Mamora were also lost.


Medal commemorating the Battle of Lepanto, 1571. Obverse: Bust of Don John of Austria in armour and ruff and order (left). 'IOANNES . AVSTRIA . CAROLI . V . FIL . AET . SV . ANN . XXIIII' (John of Austria, son of Charles V, being then twenty-four years of age).  National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Spain retains cities and other possessions on the North African coast to this day.

Acknowledgement: Wikipedia,

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others

No comments:

Post a Comment