Archives Konstantin Kapıdağlı and John Young: The Ottoman Sultan Portraits Series

The early 19th century is one of the periods when the Ottoman Empire, while nourishing itself from its deep-rooted traditions, turned its face toward modernity, and the visionary state intellect was most powerfully reflected in the visual arts. This digital collection before you bears the traces of a monumental diplomatic project where the local spirit of the East and the artistic techniques of the West intersect.

The story of this exquisite portrait series blossomed with the reform movements initiated by Sultan Selim III. By the order of the Sultan, who wished to elevate the visual representation of the state in the outside world to the contemporary standards of the era, the Ottoman court painter Konstantin of Kapıdağ prepared gouache portraits of all the sultans who had ascended to the throne up to that day, starting with Osman Gazi. Konstantin’s compositions uniquely blend the fine detailing of the classical Ottoman miniature tradition (garments, turbans, patterns) with the volume, chiaroscuro (light and shadow), and anatomical realism of Western painting.

Left incomplete, this state project was finalized during the reign of Mahmud II and sent to London, home to the most prestigious printing techniques of the time. Here, engraved onto copper plates using the arduous mezzotint technique by the master British engraver John Young, these portraits were presented to the European public in 1815. The mezzotint technique enabled the fur, velvet, and silk textures on the caftans of our sultans to be reflected with extraordinary realism.

Published in its original printing under the title “A Series of Portraits of the Emperors of Turkey” as a reflection of the West-centric orientalist perception of the era, this album is, at its core, an effort by the Ottoman Empire to assert its own magnificence, its unshakeable order, and its contemporary aesthetic understanding to Europe through its own forms.

In this collection, you will find the opportunity to examine 30 unique portraits that reflect the characteristic stances, as well as the mystical and statesman identities, of the Ottoman sultans. As the shared cultural heritage of two different artists, Konstantin of Kapıdağ and John Young, this selection is not merely an art catalogue; it is the visual history of a dignified civilization, written with aesthetic elegance.