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The Battle of Lepanto, 1623

  • oil paint, canvas
  • 176 x 315 cm
  • Inv. S-88

Public Domain

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In the 17th century, seascapes evolved into a separate genre. Accounts of naval battles, voyages of discovery, ceremonies at sea and pictures of famous ships were generally of a more documentary nature. However, many seascapes were not literal representations of real life but reveal a broader artistic freedom and inspiration and usually with a hidden symbolism. The Battle of Lepanto by Andries van Eertvelt, who was one of the first seascape painters in the Netherlands, is a good example of this. The Battle in 1571 resulted in the total destruction of the Ottoman navy. Van Eertvelt used the subject to pass on a message to the spectator. The Turkish ship in the foreground on the right is dashed against the rocks and sinks with all on board. The ships sailing under the Dutch flag survive the storm. On one of the ships on the left we read the words ‘Godt sy met ons allen’ (God be with us all). Although this was a common motto on a ship it also points to the deeper meaning of the work, namely, trust in God and you will survive the storms of life.

Artist

Andries van Eertvelt RKD
Antwerp 1590 - Antwerp 1652
painters (artists)AAT

Title The Battle of Lepanto
Date 1623
Period 17th century
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings signature, year and inscription at the left on the ship: VAN E [ER]TVELT [1]623 / GODT SY MET ONS ALLEN ANNO 1623.
Collection paintings AAT
Object type oil paintings (visual works) AAT
Inventory number S-88
Acquisition credit
onbekend
Current whereabouts Work on display
Permalink https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/S-88
IIIF Manifest https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/6865/manifest.json
Art & Architecture Thesaurus 300117546 seascapes AAT
300015636 landscapes AAT
Keywords Iconclass 25H1 landscapes in the temperate zone Iconclass
25H2 landscapes with waters, waterscapes, seascapes (in the temperate zone) Iconclass
25H23 sea (seascape) Iconclass
25H2311 wave Iconclass
25H2322(MEDITERRANEAN SEA) sea (MEDITERRANEAN SEA) Iconclass
26A clouds Iconclass
26C3 storm Iconclass
44A3 flag, colours (as symbol of the state, etc.) Iconclass
44A3(+2) flag, colours (as symbol of the state, etc.) (+ nation; national) Iconclass
44A31 banner, standard (as symbol of the state, etc.) Iconclass
45 warfare; military affairs Iconclass
45A1 war Iconclass
45H3(+3) battle (+ naval force) Iconclass
46C21 ships (in general) Iconclass
46C291 shipwreck Iconclass
46C292 drowning, shipwrecked person Iconclass
46C298 damage (to a ship) Iconclass
61D(GREECE) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (names of cities and villages excepted) (GREECE) Iconclass
61E(LEPANTO) names of cities and villages (LEPANTO) Iconclass
61E(NÁVPAKTOS) names of cities and villages (NÁVPAKTOS) Iconclass
School / Style Baroque AAT
Note des tableaux dessins et estampes déposés dans la ci-devant école de l'abbaye de Baudeloo. Ceux marqués d'un K sont conformes à la note du 10 ventôse an V, trouvés au quartier de l'abbé de Saint-Pierre / Charles Piot. - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.] (nr. 323)
Notice et description des tableaux et statues exposés au Muséum du Département de l'Escaut situé à Gand dans l'église de la ci-devant Abbaye St. Pierre + Plusieurs statues antiques et bustes, moulées en plâtre sur les originaux qui sont au Musée de Paris / Pierre François Antoine de Goesin-Verhaeghe. - A Gand : De l'Imprimerie de P.F. de Goesin-Verhaeghe, 1802 (nr. 217)
Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool / Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden. - Antwerpen : J.-E. Buschmann, 1883 (jg. 2, p. 177)
Catalogue du musée de peinture de la ville de Gand, 1900 / Louis Maeterlinck. - Gand : Imprimerie Victor Van Doosselaere, 1900 (nr. 56)
Marine, par André van Artvelt ( Andries van Eertvelt) / Louis Maeterlinck. - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.] (nr. 335)
Antwerpse zeeschilders in de zeventiende eeuw / Paul Verbraeken. - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.] (s.d., s.p.)
De zee en de Kunst : Andries von Eertvelt, Schipbreuk van een Turks oorlogsschip / Norbert Hostyn. - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.] (jg. 29; nr. 196; p. 5-8)
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent / Robert Hoozee. - Brussel : Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, 1988 (p. 49, 59)
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent = Museum of Fine Arts Ghent / Claudie De Guillebon, Jacques Ostier, Robert Hoozee, Monique Tahon-Vanroose. - Parijs : Association des Amis de "Musées 2000", 1989 (p. 64 (ill. 361))
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : Catalogus schilderkunst ; Deel I: 14de - 18de eeuw ; Deel II: 19de - 20ste eeuw / Robert Hoozee, Johan De Smet, Bruno Fornari, Ruth Monteyne. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2007 (dl. I, p. 85 (ill.))
Vlaanderen en de Zee : Van Pieter Bruegel de Oude tot de Fluwelen Brueghel (tentoonstelling Cassel, Musée départemental de Flandre, 04.04 - 12.07.2015) / Sandrine Vézilier-Dussart, Cécile Laffon, Lawrence Otto Goedde, Manfred Sellink, Stéphane Curveiller. - Cassel : Musée départemental de Flandre (Cassel), 2015 ; Gent : Uitgeverij Snoeck, 2015 (p.93)
La Flandre et la mer : De Pieter Bruegel l'Ancien à Jan Brueghel de Velours (exposition Cassel, Musée départemental de Flandre, 04.04 - 12.07.2015) / Marie-Émilie Fourneaux, Éléonore Larbaud, Stéphanie Pioda. - Cassel : Musée départemental de Flandre (Cassel), 2015 ; Parijs : Beaux Arts éditions, 2015
From Titian to Rubens : Masterpieces from Antwerp and other Flemish Collections (exhibition Venice, Palazzo Ducale, 05.09.2019 - 01.03.2020) / Ben Van Beneden, Fred G. Meijer, Timothy De Paepe, Dirk Imhof. - Venice : MUVE, 2019 (pp.202-203)
Da Tiziano a Rubens : Capolavori da Anversa e da altre collezioni fiamminghe (mostra Venezia, Palazzo Ducale, 05.09.2019 - 01.03.2020) / Ben Van Beneden, Fred G. Meijer, Timothy De Paepe, Dirk Imhof. - Venezia : MUVE, 2019 (pp.202-203)
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : De collectie (tentoonstelling vanaf 21 maart 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2021
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand : La Collection (exposition dès le 21 mars 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gand : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand, 2021
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