Othman Kahn I, from Portraits of the Emperors of Turkey
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
213633
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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...