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Notes
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The loss of Cyprus to the Turks in 1571 provoked action by the Christian League under Don Juan of Austria, the illegitimate half-brother of Philip II of Spain. A fleet of over 200 galleys proceeded to the Gulf of Lepanto where they met the Turkish fleet on 7 October 1571. The Galleys were mainly Venetian and Spanish but included squadrons from the Papal States and Genoa. Although the Christians were outnumbered on the flanks, they triumphed in the centre and the Turks were eventually defeated. The battle is memorable as the last of the great galley actions and for the large number of people who were killed; about 25,000 Turks and 8,000 Christians. The painting is an imaginative interpretation of the battle, with a high horizon and a sea littered with Galleys locked in combat.
Among the mass of galleys and galleasses behind are standards displaying the Lion of Venice, the red St George's cross of Genoa, and the gold and silver standards of the Papal States. Don Juan's flagship is in the middle distance, left of centre, with its standard of Christ on the Cross and flying the Habsburg double-headed eagle. She is assisting a Venetian galley in attacking the flagship of Ali Pasha, the Turkish Commander-in-Chief, with the standard bearing the three crescents.
Title
The Battle of Lepanto, 7 October 1571
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 127 x W 232.4 cm
Accession number
BHC0261
Work type
Painting