Other 16th-century conflicts
Contemporary maps of 10 sixteenth-century wars
Battle of Lepanto, 1571
Mirate, anime pie, / Con qual arte il Signor d l'uniuerso / Insieme aduna il popol suo disperso; / E disperge le genti inique, e rie
published 1572Etching with engraving; printed on paper; mounted on paper (Mount Type B) | 17.5 x 29.5 cm (image and sheet) | RCIN 721065
An allegorical representation of the victory of the Christians over the Turks: in a small boat sit the representatives of the Holy League: the Pope, Charles V, and the Doge of Venice, together with their saints: St Paul, St John and St Mark. The pope is hauling in a fishing net in which is captured the Turkish fleet, symbolising the prominent part played by the Papal State in the defeat of the Turks. On the stern of the boat stand three female figures representaing Faith, Hope and Charity: C, F and S. God, with a triangular halo, waves with His right hand and looks on from an open circular cloud, top left. Fourth Ottoman-Venetian War (1570-1573).
The attribution of the engraving to Martin Rota is made in Witcombe p.160, footnote 14.
? Nicolo Nelli (b.1530, active 1562-74) (publisher) [below neatline, bottom left:] 1572 In Venetia appresso Nicolo Nellj / con licentia de superiori et priuilegio / per anni xx.
Watermark: None visible
Condition: some brown discolouration; some slight foxing; no gilt edges
17.5 x 29.5 cm (image and sheet)
cropped (platemark)
16.6 x 29.5 cm (neatline)
19.9 x 32.4 cm (mount)
Printed title:
Mirate, anime pie, / Con qual arte il Signor d l'uniuerso / Insieme aduna il popol suo disperso; / E disperge le genti inique, e rie. [top centre, in a cartouche]
Annotations:
George III heading: Naval Engagement Lepanto 1571.
Other annotations: (Recto) none. (Verso) [right, black pencil:] I [or II]/61; [right of centre, red pencil:] 1/57.
George III catalogue entry:
Lepanto A print representing the Pope and others taking in a net the Turkish Fleet at Lepanto; by N. Nelli, 1572.
Subject(s)
Nafpaktos, West Greece, Greece (38°23ʹ30ʺN 21°49ʹ39ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
B. Paul, ‘And the moon has started to bleed: apocalypticism and religious reform in Venetian art at the time of the Battle of Lepanto’ in J. G. Harper (ed), The Turk and Islam in the western eye, 1450-1750: visual imagery before orientalism, Farnham UK and Burlington USA 2011, p. 89
F. Marías, ‘Una estampa con el arco triunfal de Don Juan de Austria (Messina, 1571): desde Granada hacia Lepanto’, n.5-6, Lexicon 2007-2008, pp. 65-74
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2713
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
