Fort and village of Navarino [Pylos], Septr. 26th 1857 [Greece]

Mounted in album with PAI4673-PAI4693, PAI4695-PAI4716.; No.22. 16. No. 22 in Fanshawe's Baltic and later album, 1843-1883. Captioned by the artist on the album page below the image, as title. The ninth of a series of drawings of the Mediterranean fleet's summer cruise, from Malta and back, between 3 June and 7 November 1857. Fanshawe apparently did no drawings at their immediately previous ports of call (Algiers, Part Mahon or Malta) after leaving Gibraltar. Writing to his father in November he said ' I am glad you like the sketches. I have a few others, but not of Algiers, for my time was taken up...so I had not much opportunity.' (Fanshawe [1904] p. 356): this suggests he sent some home (or copies, as in the case of PAI4693) .This monochrome wash drawing is a view looking approximately south out of the Bay of Navarino (modern Pylos) on the west coast of the Greek Peloponnese with the outskirts of the town on the left and fort in the centre. The point of land on the right is probably a small island in the strait which separates the fort from the long, north-south island of Sphacteria, which closes the bay from the Ionian Sea. The bay, as Fanshawe would have well known, was site of the controversial naval battle of 20 October 1827 in which Admiral Sir Edward Codrington's British fleet, in alliance with French and Russian squadrons destroyed the Turkish fleet during the Greek War of Independence from Turkey. While Codrington was acclaimed as a popular hero in Britain (no less than Greece) the fact that he allowed himself to be drawn into major action against the Turks, contrary to the intentions of British foreign policy, led to his recall under considerable Government disapproval. The battle was the last fleet action of the age of sail. See also PAI4695.
Edward Gennys Fanshawe

Original size: 230 mm x 324 mm