Hans Krell: Portrait of king Louis II of Hungary (1522)

(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria)

A painting by the German artist Hans Krell (1490-1565 or 1586). King Louis II of Hungary (1506 -1526) was the only son of king Vladislaus II Jagiellon and his third wife, Anne of Foix-Candale. Louis II of Hungary is best known for his disastrous was against the Ottoman empire. Following the accession to the throne of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman I, the sultan sent an ambassador to Louis II to collect the annual tribute that Hungary had been subjected to. Louis II refused to pay the tribute and had the Ottoman ambassador executed and sent the head to the Sultan. Suleiman I declared war against Hungary and invaded the country. At the battle of of Mohács on 29 August 1526, Louis II led his army against the Ottoman empire. The royal Hungarian army (a medieval army with insufficient firearms and obsolete tactics) was surrounded by the Ottoman forces and almost completely destroyed on the battlefield. Louis II died during the retreat when his horse fell and he fell into a stream. The Ottoman victory led to the Ottoman annexation of Hungary. Painting from 1522.