There are only three surviving portraits of the Ottoman ruler Mehmed II, better known as Mehmed the Conqueror. One of them has just been purchased by the city of Istanbul for £777,000.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality announced the purchase last month, after acquiring the painting at an auction hosted by Christie’s Auction House in London. Historians believe it was created by the workshop of Gentile Bellini, who was sent to Constantinople by the Venetian government between the years 1479 and 1481.
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The portrait is of oil on panel and is 33.4cm in height and 45.4 cm in width. A date of November 25, 1480, is written in Latin in the lower right corner of the painting.
Londra’da açık artırma ile satılan, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Han’ın günümüze kadar gelebilmiş üç orijinal portresinden biri olan, İtalyan ressam Gentile Bellini’nin atölyesinden 15. yüzyılda çıktığı tahmin edilen yağlıboya tabloyu İBB olarak satın aldık. pic.twitter.com/z3NVue07JR
“This painting is one of the three portraits of Sultan Mehmed, who conquered Istanbul, which was made in his own time or near that period,” explains Sara Plumbly, head of the Islamic and Indian Art Department at Christie’s. “This is a particularly unusual portrait. We see another figure next to the sultan. We still do not know who this person is. This person is said to be one of his three sons, but the little age gap between the two does not quite confirm this theory. Another view is that this person could be European because of his shaven face and white complexion.”
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Mehmed II was known for his interest in Renaissance art, and invited the Italian painter to Istanbul in 1479. He asked him to paint portraits of various people in the palace to be sure of Bellini’s talent before allowing him to paint his portrait. The most famous of these portraits of the Sultan is now part of the permanent collection at the National Gallery of London.
Top Image: Courtesy Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
There are only three surviving portraits of the Ottoman ruler Mehmed II, better known as Mehmed the Conqueror. One of them has just been purchased by the city of Istanbul for £777,000.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality announced the purchase last month, after acquiring the painting at an auction hosted by Christie’s Auction House in London. Historians believe it was created by the workshop of Gentile Bellini, who was sent to Constantinople by the Venetian government between the years 1479 and 1481.
The portrait is of oil on panel and is 33.4cm in height and 45.4 cm in width. A date of November 25, 1480, is written in Latin in the lower right corner of the painting.
“This painting is one of the three portraits of Sultan Mehmed, who conquered Istanbul, which was made in his own time or near that period,” explains Sara Plumbly, head of the Islamic and Indian Art Department at Christie’s. “This is a particularly unusual portrait. We see another figure next to the sultan. We still do not know who this person is. This person is said to be one of his three sons, but the little age gap between the two does not quite confirm this theory. Another view is that this person could be European because of his shaven face and white complexion.”
Mehmed II was known for his interest in Renaissance art, and invited the Italian painter to Istanbul in 1479. He asked him to paint portraits of various people in the palace to be sure of Bellini’s talent before allowing him to paint his portrait. The most famous of these portraits of the Sultan is now part of the permanent collection at the National Gallery of London.
Top Image: Courtesy Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
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