A portrait of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, known as Fatih Sultan Mehmet to the Turks, was auctioned at one of the world’s most famous auction houses, Christie’s in London. The oil painting of the Sultan sold for $1,172,803.50, surpassing the estimated price range of $501,600 to $752,400. The portrait was purchased by the Istanbul municipality.
The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, tweeted that the Istanbul municipality had acquired the oil painting. According to Christie’s, the portrait is a product of the workshop of Gentile Bellini in Venice, circa 1429-1507. The oil-on-panel portrait measures 33.4 cm in height and 45.4 cm in width, and Christie’s notes that it was the last remaining in private hands.
When discussing Sultan Mehmed II (1432-1481), he is famously known as “Fatih,” or “the Conqueror,” in Turkish, as he was the ruler who conquered Constantinople, leading to the final fall of the Byzantine Empire on May 29, 1453, at the age of 21.
The head of the Islamic and Indian Art Collection Department at Christie’s, Sara Plumbly, told Anadolu Agency that the collection featured in the auction included works under “The Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, including Oriental Carpets and Artifacts,” and that none of the items are signed.
Plumbly continued, explaining that the second figure depicted alongside Mehmed II is unknown.
“We do not know who this other figure is. There have been some suggestions, for instance, one of his three sons, but this doesn’t quite fit with the age that one of his sons would have had at that time. Others suggest it could be a European dignitary due to the clean-shaven appearance, which is uncommon for an Ottoman man,” she stated.
According to Plumbly, it is uncommon to see another figure next to the sultan in Ottoman portraiture on the same scale. She also added, “If there is another figure, it would have to be a very important person or someone from the royal family.”
Plumbly noted that one significant detail about this piece is that it is one of only three portraits created during Mehmed II’s time.
She indicates that according to Christie’s information materials, the portrait featured in the auction “documents the fascinating interaction between East and West in the late 15th century, represented through the caretaker alongside Sultan Mehmed II, with the character accompanying him possibly being European, potentially a Venetian merchant or diplomat from the geopolitical era when the double portrait was painted.”
Christie’s notes that ten years after the conquest of Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice went to war in July 1463. Once the war ended in 1479, the Ottoman sultan requested that the republic send a painter skilled in portrait-making, “along with a sculptor and bronze founder to visit the Ottoman court.”
This honor was given to Gentile Bellini, who, coming from an artistic family, had already established himself as a master painter through his work in the Palazzo Ducale.
Bellini left the Republic of Venice to travel to the Ottoman Empire on September 3, 1479. There is little documentation on his time in Istanbul, apart from anecdotes.
According to Christie’s, “Mehmed the Conqueror seems to have kept the painter and his two assistants who accompanied him very busy with commissions.”
Additionally, Anadolu Agency reports that another famous painting of Mehmed the Conqueror, produced by Bellini, is part of the collection at the National Gallery in London.
While Sultan Mehmed II is known for his conquest of Constantinople, making it the seat of the Ottoman Empire, it should also be noted that in the years following his reign, he ensured Ottoman control over Serbia, Morea, and Trebizond (modern Trabzon) in the northern region of modern-day Turkey, as well as Bosnia, Albania, and parts of Anatolia (the central part of Turkey).
Mehmed the Conqueror carried out more than two dozen military campaigns during his reign, adding vast territories to the Ottoman Empire and expanding its control to over 2.2 million square kilometers.