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 Venetian marines fought in Lepanto, created as "Fanti da Mar" in 1550. The contemporaneous decline in commercial traffic led to the disappearance "galea grossa mercantile". By the 16th Century Venice though significant was no longer the predominant naval power it had once been; the long conflict with the Ottoman's had cut the trade routes to the East, and with the Voyages of discovery, and the opening of the Atlantic trade routes, the focus of European maritime trade had moved from the Mediterranean. The 17th century was marked by the loss of Venice's overseas possessions; Venice found itself fighting the twenty