Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II

Sultan Mehmed II — the conqueror of Constantinople — hired the Venetian painter Gentile Bellini in 1479 to paint his portrait in the European manner. Nakkaş Sinan Bey, an Ottoman painter trained in the workshop, produced this reply from the Turkish side. Mehmed sits in the classical Islamic profile pose, holding a rose to his nose. The gesture in Persian and Ottoman miniature tradition indicates a poet-emperor; Mehmed wrote poetry in three languages. Bellini's portrait went to Venice and later to the National Gallery in London. Sinan Bey's stayed in Istanbul, at the palace where it was painted. Now at Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul @topkapipalacemuseum