Portrait of Vincenzo Cappello

Vincenzo Cappello gave his long life to Venice at sea, in the years when the Republic and the Ottomans fought for control of the Mediterranean. He rose to command the Venetian fleet and was among the admirals at Preveza in 1538, the battle where a Christian alliance failed to break the Ottoman navy under Barbarossa and left the sea largely in Ottoman hands. Back home he held some of the highest offices the Republic could give, ending as a procurator of Saint Mark's. The original of this portrait came out of Titian's workshop in Venice, painted while the old admiral was still alive.