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Defterdar, or Minister of Finance

Anonymous Greek artist

1809

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Romanesque Romanticism Early 19th Century Portrait

Dominant colour

Defterdar, or Minister of Finance is a 1809 watercolor by Anonymous Greek artist, a Romanesque work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Anonymous Greek artist
When & what style?: 1809 · Romanesque
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This watercolor portrait shows a Turkish finance minister from the early 1800s. It’s part of a big group of pictures made for a British diplomat named Stratford Canning. He asked local artists to paint what he saw in Turkey. The artist mixed local watercolor methods with European drawing styles. No one knows who this artist really was. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum next.

The story of this work

Overview

A figure is shown wearing a green and white turban, a plain robe, and a yellow silk outfit, with his gaze directed to the left. The work is part of a series of views and studies commissioned by Stratford Canning during his diplomatic mission to Istanbul in 1808–09. The artist, likely associated with the circle of Konstantin Kapidagli, blended Ottoman watercolor techniques with European perspective. The series was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1895 from Charlotte Canning.

Read the full account in the museum source.