The “new Lepanto”? John V of Portugal and the battle of Matapan (1717)

Abstract

This paper deals with the new propaganda image represented in the Portrait of John V of Portugal and the Battle of Matapan, attributed to Giorgio Domenico Duprà, a commemorative work of art which referenced the battle of Cape Matapan. The victory achieved by the Portuguese navy (with an allied Christian force) over the Ottoman Empire in the Aegean Sea, in June 1717, was directly related to the official royal propaganda deployed by the Portuguese before the Holy See. It was destined to make a new image of the Portuguese king as a Catholic hero and to demonstrate his adherence to the idea of a crusade against Islam. The idea of a "new crusade" against the Grand Turk, therefore, continued to be active in Rome (as in Lisbon) at the time of Pope Clement XI, and it is in this context that the portrait gains diplomatic and symbolic significance. It is about offering an alternative view not only of the royal rhetoric but also of the Portuguese public opinion that served as a counterpoint, through unpublished documentation.