Amurat Kahn II, from Portraits of the Emperors of Turkey
John Young
1815
Medium
Mezzotint, hand-colored with brush and watercolor, on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
37.5 × 25.3 cm (14 13/16 × 10 in.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
213641
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Sultan Amurat II (Murad) was the sixth sultan in succession, reigning from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451. He abdicated in favor of his son after the first period but assumed command again a few years later, when the Balkan areas he had previously subdued threatened to rise up again. Amurat II had a strong interest in science, literature, and music, and his son Mehmed II invited the Venetian artist Gentile Bellini to work in Constantinople for a time.