(Valenciennes 1671–1737 Constantinople)
Portrait of Patrona Halil, full-length, with his fellow Janissaries,
oil on canvas, inscribed on the stretcher, 61.5 x 43 cm, framed

Provenance:
art market, Germany;
where acquired by the present owner

The stretcher of the present painting bears the French inscription: Patrone Halil / Chef De la Rebellion fus aitez par lui à Constantinople / le … Sept 1730 / Fait à Vienne par Canton l’An 1732 / Suivant l’Original peint par Jean Babtista Vanmour, à Constantinople, / et comuniqué par … L’onore de Rusfie Lanschinski. Which can be translated as: Patrona Halil / Instigator of the rebellion that broke out in Constantinople / on … September 1730 / Painted in Vienna by Canton in the year 1732 / After the original that was painted by Jean Baptiste Vanmour in Constantinople / For the honourable Russian Lanschinski.

The inscription on the reverse of the present work most probably refers to the unknown artist Franz Thomas Canton who was born in Udine in 1671 and died in Vienna in 1734. A harem scene by Canton with a similar inscription on the reverse was sold in these rooms (see sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 4 November 1992, lot 59). Franz Thomas Canton’s son and pupil Johann Gabriel Canton, born in Vienna (1710–1753), could also have been the painter of the present work, however, no works are known by this artist.

The present work closely relates to a similar painting by Jean Baptiste Vanmour conserved in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. no. SK-A-4082). The Rijksmuseum painting is signed, dated, and inscribed in the lower left. Compared to the present painting, the Rijksmuseum work shows notable differences regarding the composition and that of Patrona Halil’s pose. In the version offered here, we find the bystanders and following Janissaries of Patrona Halil on his left and a depiction of the riot itself in the right background. Here the Janissaries are depicted holding up their swords amidst the fallen bodies of their opponents. The Rijksmuseum work belonged to Dutch ambassador Cornelis Calkoen (1696–1764) who had been sent to Istanbul in 1727 and compiled a collection of more than 70 works by Vanmour and his workshop. The present work might therefore be after an unknown work by Vanmour which was initially commissioned by the Russian Lanschinski.

The Albanian Janissary, Patrona Halil, was the instigator of the revolt against the reign of Sultan Ahmed III. The Sultan’s extravagant splendour and luxury, including feasts and banquets with tables elaborately decorated with tulips, were among the causes of the riot that erupted on 28 September 1730. The turmoil led to the abdication of the Sultan and the installation of his nephew, Mahmud I. This transition marked the end of the Tulip Era, which is generally known as a peaceful and quiet period in Ottoman history, during which the Empire began to orient itself more outwardly and when the arts flourished under the encouragement of Sultan Ahmed III.

Vanmour is known for his detailed renderings of Ottoman life under Sultan Ahmed III. The artist had been a protégée of the Marquis de Ferriol, a French diplomat, at an early date. When the marquis was sent to Istanbul as the French ambassador in 1699, Vanmour was a member of his entourage and was commissioned to portray the members of the Sultan’s court and those of De Ferriol’s company. When the French ambassador returned to Paris in 1711, Vanmour remained in Istanbul and continued working for other diplomats. De Ferriol later published a book with numerous etchings based on Vanmour’s paintings (see, C. De Ferriol, Recueil de cent estampes representant differentes nations du Levant, Paris 1714/15). The etchings illustrate the costumes of the different ranks and positions within the Ottoman court and shows women of the Imperial Harem performing their daily routines. The publication became a big success and triggered a wave of enthusiasm for such oriental subject matter. To meet the rising demand for his pictures Vanmour was assisted by collaborators. One of the artist’s most important later patrons was the aforementioned Dutch ambassador Cornelis Calkoen, most of Calkoen’s collected works by Vanmour are now shown in a special room dedicated to the artist at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.