Lepanto, panel 1 - Cy Twombly

The first panel of Cy Twombly's twelve-part series depicting the 1571 Battle of Lepanto through abstract, gestural marks and vertical drips.

This work is the opening segment of a twelve-part cycle created by Cy Twombly for the 2001 Venice Biennale. The series references the 1571 Battle of Lepanto, a naval conflict between the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire. Twombly approaches this historical subject through a sequence of abstract gestures rather than literal depiction.

The composition is defined by vertical drips of paint that suggest the movement of water or the descent of blood. Against a stark white ground, Twombly applies warm tones of yellow, orange, and red. These colours are applied with a sense of urgency, using both brushwork and direct application from the tube. The forms appear to coalesce and dissolve across the surface, creating a rhythm that carries through the subsequent panels of the cycle.

Twombly, who lived in Italy for much of his career, often engaged with classical themes and historical narratives. In this series, he avoids the traditional tropes of history painting. Instead, he focuses on the visceral experience of conflict and the passage of time. The paint application is thin in areas, allowing the raw canvas to remain visible, while thicker impasto marks provide texture. The work functions as a meditation on the nature of violence and the way history is remembered through fragmented imagery. By isolating the first panel, one observes the initial energy of the series, where the colour palette is bright and the marks are relatively sparse before the narrative intensity increases in later sections. The work demonstrates Twombly's interest in the relationship between writing and painting, as his marks often resemble a form of gestural script.