This marine painting was executed in 1862 and depicts three-master frigate ” SMS Adria” and other ships of Austrian-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic. SMS Adria was the second of three Radetzky-class screw frigates built for the Austrian Navy in 1856-1857. This ship sailed as naval cadet futured Commander of Austrian Navy Wilhelm von Tegetthof and this ship took part in the battle by Lissa under his command.

Full Historia of SMS Adria see under following link from Wikipedia.org: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Adria_(1856)

The author of this rare marine painting is Craotian painter Basi (Basilio) Ivankovitch or Ivankovic (1815 Constantinople - 1898 Triest). 

IVANKOVIĆ, Basilio (Ivancovich; Bartul, Bazi, Bazilije, Vasilije, Vaso), self-taught painter (Istanbul, 16. IX. 1815 — Trieste, 23. II. 1898). He was a captain in the Austrian merchant navy. Information about his education and career as a long-distance captain is unknown. He probably lived in Marseille for some time, so he could have come into contact with members of the Roux family, famous ship painters. In 1849 he moved to Trieste, where painting became his only occupation. He specialized in "portraits" of ships and in painting votive paintings commissioned by maritime societies, shipowners or sea captains, mainly from Pelješac, Dubrovnik and the Bay of Kotor. He painted faithful types of our merchant sailing ships and the first steamships from the 1860s to 1895, mostly in oil, with thin layers of paint. By expertly depicting the appearance, construction and details of ships, artistically documenting the final phase of the struggle between sailing ships and steamships and everyday maritime life, he created valuable material for our maritime and cultural history. In individual depictions of ships at sea (Bark Eber, 1870) or in a storm (Ship Jane, 1881; Bark Mirto), in paintings that highlight the sea, the background, the boats around the ship and other details (Bark Ruma, 1876; Nava Danica, 1887) and in larger compositions (Gibraltar, the Battle of Sails and Steam and The Sailing Ships of the Pošćić Family, both 1872), he rose above illustration.
Around 400 of his paintings have been preserved and are in maritime museums along the Adriatic coast, the Trogir City Museum, the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb and in church collections. Posthumous exhibitions were held in Dubrovnik (1957), Rijeka (1958, 1983, 1985), Krk (1984), Poreč (1986) and his works were exhibited at exhibitions of marine painting (Sea in 19th and 20th century painting on the territory of Yugoslavia, Zadar 1987; Encounters with the Sea, Piran 1999). The paintings were signed by B. Ivancovich. He is considered the most significant painter of our maritime life and shipbuilding activity of the second half of the 19th century.

Literature:  Brewington, 1982; in German: Generall Artist Lexicon by Saur; Croatian Biographical Lexicon, 2025.

Technique: oil on canvas. Beautiful original period frame.

Measurements: unframed w 30 1/3" x h 20 7/8" (77 x 53 cm), framed w 34 1/2 " x h 25" (87,5 x 63,5 cm)

Condition: in  very good condition.