Beschreibung:

Valenciennes 1671 - Konstantinopel 1737
73 x 91 cm
Audienz beim Sultan. Öl/Lwd.
Jean Baptiste Vanmour or Van Mour was a Flemish-French painter, remembered for his detailed portrayal of life in the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip Era and the rule of Sultan Ahmed III. Van Mour was a native of Valenciennes, a Flemish town that at the time of his birth belonged to the Spanish Netherlands, but since 1678 to France. He studied art in the studio of Jacques-Albert Gérin and his work attracted the attention of an aristocrat and statesman of the time, Marquis Charles de Ferriol. Van Mour was invited to go to Constantinople when De Ferriol was appointed there as the French Ambassador in 1699. De Ferriol commissioned van Mour to do one hundred portraits of the local people. In 1711 De Ferriol returned to France and van Mour worked for a variety of other diplomats. Painting audiences with the Sultan became van Mour's speciality; he only had to change the setting and a few faces. Van Mour worked with assistants to fulfill all his obligations. In 1725 he was granted the extraordinary title of Peintre Ordinaire du Roy en Levant in recognition of both his and the Levant's importance to the French government. In 1727 the Dutch ambassador Cornelis Calkoen asked Van Mour to record his audience with Sultan Ahmed III on canvas. Van Mour was allowed to enter the palace during these ceremonies accompanying the ambassador and his retinue; therefore, he was familiar with the special protocol that prevailed in the Ottoman court for ambassador's receptions. Calkoen took many paintings of Jean Baptiste Vanmour with him, when he was appointed as ambassador in Dresden for the Dutch Republic. (Reference Wikipedia). Nothing is known about the education and early career of French artist Vanmour (1671-1737). In 1699, he joined the entourage of Marquis Charles de Ferriol, the new French ambassador to Constantinople (Istanbul). There Vanmour portrayed government functionaries and various local peoples. When De Ferriol returned to France in 1711, Vanmour remained and continued working for Western patrons, including Cornelis Calkoen. Calkoen had been appointed ambassador to the Ottoman court by the Dutch Republic in 1727. He was also an art collector and commissioned Vanmour to paint on several occasions. To meet the considerable demand for paintings, Vanmour maintained a studio in which assistants reproduced his compositions. Despite his success, he found himself in dire financial straits towards the end of his life. The artist lived and worked in the Ottoman capital until his death in 1737. (Reference Rijksmuseum) Rest.