Pair of 16th C Portraits of Turkish Ottoman Sultans, follower of Paolo Veronese.

The present paintings refer to the works attributed to a follower of Paolo Veronese in the Bayerische Staatsgemälde Sammlungen , Würzburg . The paintings are comparable and complementary to a set of 6 Turkish rulers sold in 2022 for 1,5 M. by Sothebys.
Located at the crossroads of East and West, the Ottoman Empire absorbed a diverse range of influences, including Chinese, European, and Persian, to produce a distinctive and coherent artistic language throughout a range of decorative arts. Ottoman expansion into Eastern Europe and subsequent access to the silver mines of the Balkans between the 14th and 16th C. led to a rich and skilled tradition of Ottoman silverware, tiles, dishes, and other ceramic objects. From the 16th to 19th C. the production of decorative arts continued to flourish with the introduction of both rococo and baroque elements signalling an increasingly open attitude to all things European. The production of Orientalist paintings is rich in topographical landscapes of Istanbul, genre scenes, and portraits of Ottoman notables. Europe’s fascination with its powerful, Muslim neighbours inspired a wave of accounts and paintings of the Ottoman world. The taking of Constantinople in 1453 by the young Mehmet II (‘The Conqueror’) not only sparked this interest, but the young Sultan himself, who invited European painters to his court, further fuelled this fashion. The period following his reign saw relations between the Republic of Venice and its powerful neighbour reach a state of relative calm, initiating a period of exchange and trade.

The present portraits of the Sultans, depicted in three-quarter view and wearing a large turban and richly embroidered cloak, was directly influenced by the paintings by Paolo Caliari, called Paolo Veronese. Veronese’s original series of fourteen portraits of Ottoman Sultans, inspired the creation of several sets which were painted between the late sixteenth to nineteenth century. A full set, by one of Veronese followers, is now housed in the Collection Bayerische Staatsgemälde Sammlungen, Munich (inv. no.2243) (R. Kultzen and P. Eikemeier, Venezianische Gemalde des 15. Und 16. Jahrhunderts, Bayerische Staatsgemälde Sammlungen, München, 1971, pp.236-9). The paintings served as important diplomatic gifts. Notable are a set of portraits now in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul which were shipped from Venice to Istanbul in September 1579. These were most likely the result of a request by the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who was interested in establishing a local genealogy of the Sultans, to Niccolò Barbarigo, the Venetian ambassador in Constantinople, for such works.
In addition to the complete sets in Munich and Istanbul, at least two fragmentary sets of Sultan portraits exist in the Topkapi Palace, as discussed by Filiz Çağman (F. Çağman, ‘Portrait Series of Nakkas Osman’ in The Sultan’s Portrait: picturing the house of Osman, exh. cat., Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, 6 June – 6 September 2000, Istanbul, Işbank, 2000, pp.174-5).