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Zülüflü Baltaci, or Page to the Sultan

Anonymous Greek artist

1809

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Romanticism Early 19th Century Portrait

Dominant colour

Zülüflü Baltaci, or Page to the Sultan is a 1809 watercolor by Anonymous Greek artist, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

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

About this work

This painting is called Zülüflü Baltaci, or Page to the Sultan. It was made by an Anonymous Greek artist around 1809. The painting is held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it's a portrait, which is a type of art that focuses on depicting a person. The artist's style is interesting because it combines Ottoman and European techniques. This mix of styles is what makes the painting unique. Check out the movement: Romanticism.

The story of this work

Overview

The work depicts an official wearing a tall cylindrical headdress, accompanied by two thin, pigtail-like lovelocks and a drooping moustache, while holding a staff. Part of a series commissioned by Stratford Canning during his diplomatic mission to Istanbul in 1808, the drawings were executed by an anonymous Greek artist likely associated with Konstantin Kapidagli’s circle. Combining Ottoman watercolor techniques with European perspective, the series was later acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1895 from Canning’s daughter. Originally bound in a volume, the drawings were purchased…

Read the full account in the museum source.