Art Institute of Chicago

Othman Kahn I, from Portraits of the Emperors of Turkey

John Young

Date

1815

Medium

Mezzotint, hand-colored with brush and watercolor, on ivory wove paper

Culture

England

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The engraver John Young produced several books of mezzotints after paintings in British collections. Sultan Selim III commissioned him to make a series after portraits of the emperors of Turkey before 1807, but production halted when janissaries assassinated the sultan. Mahmoud II ascended the throne, and Young resumed work in 1810. There were 28 mezzotints in this expansive example of the Ottoman Empire’s patronage of Western artists. This sheet shows the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, Othman (or Osman) the first. He reigned from 1299 to 1326 and was said to be a great tactician known for his stern demeanor and bushy moustache.

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