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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1985.214.B
People
Haydar Reis (called Nigari), Turkish (1494 - 1574)
Title
Portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (after Cranach?)
Classification
Albums
Work Type
album folio
Date
1566-1574
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey), Istanbul
Period
Ottoman period
Culture
Ottoman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215796

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
22.9 x 12.8 cm (9 x 5 1/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Possibly Imperial Library, Istanbul. F.R. Martin (1912). [Kirkor Minassian, Paris or New York, (after 1912 -1945?)], by descent; to [Adrienne Minassian, New York (1945?)-29 April 1965], sold; to Edwin Binney, 3rd, 1965, bequest; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1985.

Footnotes:
See: Edwin Binney, 3rd, "Turkish Treasures From the Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd", Portland Art Museum, Portland Oregon, 1979, p. 25.
See: F.R. Martin, "The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persian India and Turkey from the 8th to the 18th Century" London, 1912 p. 93.
Kirkor Minassian died in 1943 or 1944 according to the History of the Minassian Collection at Brown University.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard Art Museums
Accession Year
1985
Object Number
1985.214.B
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
This portrait of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, along with the portrait of Francis I were made by the Ottoman court artist Haydar (Nigari). The inscription under the portrait states that one of them is [of] Spain and the other France. The inscription below the portrait of Francis contains the artist’s name and fictitiously proclaims that they [Francis and Charles] visited Sultan Selim II (r. 1566-74) to collect an imperial decree. While the two monarchs, archrivals of the Ottoman sultans, never set foot in the Ottoman capital, images of their likenesses did, providing the artist with prototypes. Here, Nigari has taken as his model an unknown portrait of Charles V possibly a print modeled after Charles’ portrait by Lucas Cranach. Charles, shown in profile view is depicted in European headdress and costume. The artist executed the portrait using minimal depth. The artist Haydar Nigari was a sea captain and was in charge of the Ottoman Imperial Naval yards. He was also a poet and close companion of Selim II during his princedom and rule. Both portraits were most likely later included in an album made for Ahmed I (r. 1603-17) partially known as the Bellini album.

Publication History

  • F.R. Martin, The Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India and Turkey, from the 8th to the 18th century, B. Quaritch (London, England, 1912), p. 59, plate 227
  • Edwin Binney III, Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd, exh. cat., Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR, 1979), page 24-25, 59, /figure 12
  • Elizabeth Coombs, "Low Energy X-Radiography of Works of Art on Paper" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, July 1987), Unpublished, passim

Exhibition History

  • The Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/16/1987 - 08/02/1987
  • The Ottoman Empire: A Culture and Its Impact, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/25/1989 - 05/21/1989
  • The Ottomans and their Contemporaries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/21/1992 - 05/17/1992
  • A Grand Legacy: Arts of the Ottoman Empire, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/09/1999 - 01/02/2000
  • 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 05/14/2015
  • Imagine Me and You: Dutch and Flemish Encounters with the Islamic World, 1450–1750, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/18/2024 - 08/18/2024

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu