Portrait of a Venetian Woman black-and pearl necklace and highly-fashionable patterned dress; all of which are highlighted against a flat black background. It is similar in pose and colour tone to his c 1507 "A German Woman from Venice", while at least two studies of Venetian women are known, both of which are very daring. One shows the model with a plunging neckline, the other with bare shoulders. During his visit to Italy Dürer became fascinated by and befriended Giovanni Bellini, an established master when Dürer was still a relative unknown outside of Germany. The Franconian artist's influence can be seen in this work's soft
Venetian navy beginning in the 16th century and ending with the capitulation of the city to Napoleon in 1796. Giving shelter to refugees fleeing Hunnic invaders in the 6th century, Venice grew in the Venetian Lagoon in the northern Adriatic, from the very beginning it focused on the maritime trade routes across the Eastern Mediterranean to the Levant and beyond; Venice's commercial and military strength, and continued survival, lay in the strength of its fleet, which allowed it for centuries to check the maritime advance of the numerically superior forces of the Ottoman Empire. The origins of the Venetian navy lay in