THE DEFENCE OF SZIGETVÁR BY NIKOLA ZRINSKY

roatian Ban Nikola Shubicz Zrinski was a general and commander of the royal army on the Danube and in Szigetvár. Nikola Zrinski is known for his successful battles against the Turks. However, he fell in the battle at the water fortress of Szigetvár in 1566. When the entire fortress was engulfed in flames, he opened the gate and rushed out with the last soldiers towards inevitable death. Although Nikola Zrinski lost the battle for Szigetvár, this legendary fight significantly slowed the Turkish advance in their invasion of Europe. He thus became a national hero of Croatia.

The painting is intentionally divided into two halves. In the left part, the citadel is depicted in the background, where a gunpowder store hides. In this half of the painting, only men are fighting. It captures the last moments of the city's defense against the overwhelming Turkish force. Nikola Zrinski delivers a speech in front of the citadel and prepares for the last sortie with exhausted warriors, who are discarding their heavy armor in favor of agility. In the right half of the painting, the gunpowder store, which the defending soldiers refused to surrender to the enemy, is depicted. A woman commander pulls out a torch and sets fire to the tower with the powder. Other women join the last heroic defense on the scaffolding, choosing death over humiliation and enslavement. The dark column of smoke dividing the painting symbolizes not only the explosion of the gunpowder store but primarily the sacrifice of human lives given in the name of freedom.